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Obese Children Miss More School Days
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> The researchers don't know why obesity and absenteeism are linked, but Foster said the reasons are more likely to be psychosocial than medical, since there aren't as many medical issues at this young age. That said, childhood obesity has been linked with health problems such as asthma and type 2 diabetes.
"The most immediate problem for obese children is the reduced self-image and insecurity caused by explicit teasing or implicit disapproval from peers, parents and other family members," said Dr. Michael Dansinger, an obesity researcher at Tufts-New England Medical Center. "Obese children are often teased and bullied by other children, and this could certainly lead to extra days of missed school. Excuses for staying home from school become much easier to find if school is often unpleasant or scary," he said.
Foster suggested that future studies look more closely at the relationship between obesity and absenteeism, particularly since this is the first study to discover the correlation, and the study has some limitations. For example, even though the two extra days of school missed are statistically significant, it's unknown if they will have a great impact on a child's academic performance.
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The researchers were also unable to show how obesity and school absenteeism were linked. This is partially because the children's weight and attendance were not recorded over time, Dansinger said.
"The researchers were unable to rule out the possibility that an underlying factor, such as relatively high or low family income, was a contributing cause of both obesity and absenteeism," he said. "Also, the researchers studied only inner-city children, a group with relatively low income and relatively high rates of absenteeism regardless of body weight. The link between obesity and absenteeism may differ somewhat for suburban, rural or private schools."
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Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 8/24/2007
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SOURCES: Gary Foster, Ph.D., director, Center for Obesity Research and Education, Temple University, Philadelphia; Thomas N. Robinson, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics, Stanford University, director, Center for Healthy Weight, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.; Michael Dansinger, M.D., obesity researcher, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston; August 2007, Obesity
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