Research

Childhood obesity and behavior problems linked

In a study that points to the importance of considering both mind and body in children's health, researchers reported Nov. 3 that they have found a clear link between childhood obesity and behavior problems.

Results published in the journal Pediatrics show that children who have significant behavior problems, as described by their parents, are nearly three times as likely to be overweight as other children. In addition, children with behavior problems are as much as five times more likely to become overweight later.

The study is based on national data from an intensive long-term survey of mothers and children conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor.

"This demonstrates solidly for the first time what we have suspected for years from clinical experience, that there is an association between behavior problems and obesity, and that a child with behavior problems is more likely to go on to be overweight. This is true regardless of socioeconomic status," says lead author Dr. Julie Lumeng, a research investigator at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development and clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics.

The study's other authors are from Boston University. The research was funded by Lumeng's Fellow-to-Faculty Transition Award from the American Heart Association, by the Health Resources and Services Administration, and by the Joel and Barbara Alpert Endowment for Children of the City.