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(Ivanhoe Newswire) While previous research has shown that emotional problems and obesity coexist in people, the causal relationship has not been clear. Now there is new research that sheds some light on this chicken-or-the-egg question by showing that those with emotional difficulties in childhood are at higher risk for obesity in adult life.
Andrew Ternouth, David Collier and Barbara Maughan from the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, studied data from 6,500 members of the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study who, as 10 year-olds, had been assessed for emotional problems, self-perceptions and BMI, and who reported on their BMI again at age 30. The researchers found that children with a lower self-esteem, those who felt less in control of their lives and those who worried often were more likely to gain weight over the next 20 years. They also found that girls were slightly more affected by these factors than boys.
Ternouth was quoted as saying, "While we cannot say that childhood emotional problems cause obesity in later life, we can certainly say they play a role, along with factors such as parental BMI, diet and exercise."
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The authors suggest that early intervention for children suffering low self-esteem, anxiety or other emotional challenges could help improve their chances of long-term physical health. Ternouth continued, "Strategies to promote social and emotional aspects of learning, including the promotion of self-esteem, are central to a number of recent policy initiatives. Our findings suggest that approaches of this kind may carry positive benefits for physical health as well as for other aspects of children's development."
The authors concluded, "Given the growing problem with childhood obesity in many western societies, these findings are particularly important. On a larger scale, they may offer hope in the battle to control the current obesity epidemic."
SOURCE: BMC Medicine, September 10, 2009
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
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