Being overweight has a significant effect on a child's quali...( children who were not overweight. Decr...),Health

"Our results indicate that health-related QOL, or functioning, begins to decline as soon as a child is above average weight, with a gradual steepening as Body Mass Index (BMI) increases," the authors write. "The decrease was small for overweight children but more marked for those who were obese. These new observations are less dramatic than the much lower scores reported for children attending tertiary clinics, but are consistent with those observed for adults."

"These findings have both positive and negative implications. As for any chronic condition, a relatively small effect of overweight on children's functioning across multiple domains is welcome. However, if neither children nor parents perceive a health effect, it seems unlikely that they will seek health care or initiate behavioral change that might lead to a healthier BMI, and consequently lessen the long-term health risk for the current generation of children. Our findings may explain why so few parents of overweight children express concern about their child's weight, yet with a quarter of all children now overweight or obese, even a minor reduction in health-related QOL at an individual level is still likely to have a major effect at a population level," the authors conclude.

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Contact: Joanne Williams, Ph.D.
jo.williams@mcri.edu.au
JAMA and Archives Journals
4-Jan-2005