TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations between obesity and developmental functioning in pre-school children
T2 - A population-based study
AU - Mond, J. M.
AU - Stich, H.
AU - Hay, P. J.
AU - Kraemer, A.
AU - Baune, B. T.
PY - 2007/7/10
Y1 - 2007/7/10
N2 - Objective: To examine associations between obesity and impairment in developmental functioning in a general population sample of pre-school children. Method: Standardized medical examinations were conducted in nine consecutive cohorts of male and female children (n=9415) aged between 4.4 and 8.6 years (mean=6.0, s.d.=0.37) residing in the Lower Bavaria region of Germany. Tests designed to assess performance in subdivisions representing four broad developmental domains, namely, motor development, speech development, cognitive development and psycho-social development, were completed by all participants. Results: Boys had significantly higher rates of impairment than girls. The prevalence of obesity in boys was 2.4%, whereas in girls it was 4.3% (χ 2=21.51, P< 0.01). After controlling for age, gender, year of recruitment and other potential covariates, the prevalence of impairment in gross motor skills was higher among obese male children than normal-weight male children (adjusted odds ratio=1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.02, 3.01, P< 0.05), whereas the prevalence of impairment in the ability to focus attention was higher in obese female children than normal-weight female children (adjusted odds ratio=1.86, 95% CI=1.00, 3.44, P< 0.05). Conclusions: The findings suggest that gender-specific associations between obesity and impairment in specific aspects of developmental functioning may be evident in younger children.
AB - Objective: To examine associations between obesity and impairment in developmental functioning in a general population sample of pre-school children. Method: Standardized medical examinations were conducted in nine consecutive cohorts of male and female children (n=9415) aged between 4.4 and 8.6 years (mean=6.0, s.d.=0.37) residing in the Lower Bavaria region of Germany. Tests designed to assess performance in subdivisions representing four broad developmental domains, namely, motor development, speech development, cognitive development and psycho-social development, were completed by all participants. Results: Boys had significantly higher rates of impairment than girls. The prevalence of obesity in boys was 2.4%, whereas in girls it was 4.3% (χ 2=21.51, P< 0.01). After controlling for age, gender, year of recruitment and other potential covariates, the prevalence of impairment in gross motor skills was higher among obese male children than normal-weight male children (adjusted odds ratio=1.76, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.02, 3.01, P< 0.05), whereas the prevalence of impairment in the ability to focus attention was higher in obese female children than normal-weight female children (adjusted odds ratio=1.86, 95% CI=1.00, 3.44, P< 0.05). Conclusions: The findings suggest that gender-specific associations between obesity and impairment in specific aspects of developmental functioning may be evident in younger children.
KW - Children
KW - Developmental functioning
KW - Pre-school
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34250851356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/sj.ijo.0803644
DO - 10.1038/sj.ijo.0803644
M3 - Article
C2 - 17471298
AN - SCOPUS:34250851356
SN - 0307-0565
VL - 31
SP - 1068
EP - 1073
JO - International Journal of Obesity
JF - International Journal of Obesity
IS - 7
ER -