Better psychological wellbeing at age 11 is associated with higher likelihood of a child no longer being classed as having overweight or obesity (i.e. transitioning into a healthy weight) by age 17. This is the first study of its kind to draw these conclusions.
Psychology and public health researchers from the University of Liverpool and Maynooth University, analysed data of more than 8000 records of children with overweight and obesity in the UK, with roughly half age 11 years and the other 14. Better psychological wellbeing at age 11 was associated with increased likelihood of the reversal of overweight and obesity. The study analysed caregiver-reported child mental health (internalising and externalising symptoms) and child-reported psychosocial wellbeing (self-esteem, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, appearance satisfaction and peer bullying).
While psychological wellbeing measures at age 11 were associated with the reversal of obesity and overweight at age 17, these measures at age 14 were not associated with subsequent reversal. The study suggests late childhood/ early adolescence (age 11) may be a sensitive period in which psychological wellbeing has a pronounced prospective relationship with body weight trajectories.
Dr I Gusti Ngurah Edi Putra, lead researcher on the study, from the Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool said: “This study is the first to show how psychological wellbeing, specifically at age 11, plays an important role in explaining why some children transitioned into a healthy weight, but the others remained with overweight and obesity by age 17.
“While further work needs to be done to understand why early adolescence is a critical point, we know this is a time in a child’s life when they may be experiencing change – moving up into high school for example. Integrating psychological support into current obesity prevention and treatment, particularly during an age-sensitive period may be important.”
Researchers used more than 8000 children in their UK mass cohort study – taken from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). Known as ‘Child of the New Century’, cohort members and their families, followed the lives of around 19,000 young people born across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000-02.
Professor Eric Robinson, senior researcher on the study, from the Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool said: “We have known for some time that overweight and obesity are difficult to live with psychologically and these new findings align with other emerging evidence which suggest that as a society we need to be doing a much better job of supporting people with obesity if we are to ever make serious progress in reducing obesity.”
The paper, ‘Psychological well-being and the reversal of childhood overweight and obesity in the UK: a longitudinal national cohort study’, is published in Obesity (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.24147).
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