Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

A study of more than 8,000 children from the University of Missouri found that overweight children are at higher risk for loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Even overweight kindergartners had more social problems than did slimmer peers

"We found that both boys and girls who were overweight from kindergarten through third grade displayed more depression, anxiety and loneliness than kids who were never overweight, and those negative feelings worsened over time," Professor Sara Gable wrote in the journal Applied Developmental Science, which published the study.

Young girls felt more negative impacts of being overweight than boys, Dr. Gable noted. "Teachers reported that (overweight) girls had less positive social relations and displayed less self-control and more acting out than girls who were never overweight," she wrote.

Dr. Gable and her colleagues took into consideration the age when the children became overweight, the length of time they were overweight, and their social and behavioral development.

Labels: childhood_obesity, depression, anxiety

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Four new studies indicate that being overweight negatively affects the mental health of children and teenagers.

• A study from the University of Minnesota found that overweight children who were teased about their bodies were two or three times more likely to think about or try to commit suicide. The effect was worse for girls, in that 50 percent had thought about suicide (compared to 34 percent of boys) and 25 percent of girls had attempted suicide (compared to 12 percent of boys). The children in the study suffered from depression, poor body images and low self-esteem.
• The second study from the University of Alberta in Canada looked at how being overweight affects self-esteem and school performance.
  
  Dr. Paul Veugelers assembled data on 4,298 fifth grade children, including their scores on standardized tests, heights and weights, and measurements of self-esteem. He found that children who were overweight had lower self-esteem, but doing well in school could help them feel better about themselves, Children who steered away from junk food and ate sufficient amounts of fruit, vegetables, protein, and fiber were significantly more likely to perform well on literacy tests.
  
  Dr. Veugelers actively campaigns for school and government interventions to help overweight Canadian children. His latest study appears in the journal Obesity Review.
• White and Hispanic teenagers who are obese or overweight are more likely to be anxious and depressed, according to published in the journal Pediatrics. The effect did not hold for overweight African-American teenagers.
  
  Dr. Rhonda BeLue and her colleagues at Pennsylvania State University went through public health records of more than 35,184 people ages 12 to 19 years old. She said that her findings indicate that doctors should assess not only a teenager's weight problems, but also mental health issues.
  
  Dr. BeLue was not sure why African-American teens are not as bothered by being overweight, but she speculated that they might be dealing with "a constellation" of other stresses or simply be under less pressure from family and friends to be thin.
• Finally, a study from RMIT University found that obese 10 to 13 year-olds find it hard to concentrate, hard to sleep, and had problems with back pain and lower leg pains. Lead researcher Lara Taylor said obese children were overall more weak and tired, and struggled with ordinary movements such as getting up from chairs, compared to children of normal weight.

This study was part of a national analysis called Overweight, Obesity and Function.

Labels: mental_health, depression, body_image

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Since so many children are overweight, does this mean that heavy children are less likely to be bullied and teased at school? The answer is no, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

• Prof. Julie Lumeng and her colleagues at the University of Michigan analyzed bullying incidents among 821 children ages 8 to 11 years old.
• The researchers assessed the children in third, fifth and sixth grades.
• Overweight children were much more likely to be bullied, regardless of their gender, race, socioeconomic status, academic achievement, social skills, or school demographic profile.

"This study speaks to the deep prejudice against children who are obese," said Dr. Lumeng. "They are viewed as lazy and lacking self-control, although we know the reasons for obesity are so much more complex than that. ... No matter how much we retested, the findings were very robust. Obese kids are more likely to be bullied."

Previous studies have shown that overweight children who experienced bullying are more likely to experience depression and anxiety.

Labels: depression, anxiety, bullies

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Here's yet another reason to help your children achieve and maintain a healthy body weight: Having a large waist means you're more likely to depressed, according to a new study from the University of Alabama.

Researchers studied longitudinal data on 5115 people ages 18 to 30 years old to try to determine which comes first -- a person's depression or his or her large waist.

"We found that everyone as a whole gained weight during the 15-year period of time we examined," said Professor Belinda Needham, lead author of the study. "However, the people who started reporting high levels of depression increased in abdominal obesity and BMI at a faster rate than those reported fewer symptoms of depression in year five. "

This study appeared in the American Journal of Public Health.
 

Labels: health, depression

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