Psychological aspects of childhood obesity: a controlled study in a clinical and nonclinical sample
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Updated: Sep 11, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
C Braet1, I Mervielde, W Vandereycken
1Department of Psychology, University of Ghent, Belgium.
Abstract:
Explored the relationship between obesity and psychosocial adjustment in a combined clinical and nonclinical sample of 139 obese children and 150 non-obese children (ages from 9 to 12 years and matched for age, socioeconomic status, and gender) who filled out the Perceived Competence Scale for Children; their parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist. All obese children, independent of their help-seeking status, reported more negative physical self-perceptions than their nonobese peers and they scored lower on general self-worth. According to their parents, the obese children of the clinical sample appeared to have more behavior problems. Findings suggest that psychopathology depends on a clinical obese status, and they provide evidence for a psychosocial at-risk profile for a subgroup of obese children.
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