The Emotional Impact of Obesity on Children

doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-374995-6.10024-6

Global Perspectives on Childhood Obesity

Current Status, Consequences and Prevention

2011, Pages 257-264

Global Perspectives on Childhood Obesity

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374995-6.10024-6 Get rights and content

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With the declaration that obesity has become an epidemic in the United States as well as numerous other countries, much attention has been given to the physical consequences of obesity on children and even the fiscal cost for taxpayers. But little attention has been focused on the emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual effects of living as an obese child. This chapter focuses on the metaphysical consequences of obesity on children and adolescents. In addition, it attempts to answer these questions: Do all obese children suffer some emotional consequence merely from being overweight? What are the immediate and long-term emotional tolls of being an obese child? Are current treatment modalities efficacious in addressing these emotional symptoms? Finally, the chapter examines some possible interventions to prevent or treat the emotional consequences of obesity during childhood.

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The association between overweight/obesity and psychological distress: A population based cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia
2021, Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
Citation Excerpt :
In our previous survey of the participants of Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, (n = 1019) 54.3% of our cohort was obese or overweight, compared to 45.7% non-obese (Al-Ghamdi et al., 2018). Currently, obesity is not considered a psychological disorder (Cornette, 2011; Russell-Mayhew et al., 2012). Perhaps, because of this, underlying psychological causes of obesity have not yet been studied in detail (Russell-Mayhew et al., 2012).
The objective of this study was to compare the association between mental well-being between obese (classes 1 and 2), over-weight and non-obese population-based individuals
A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. A total of 1019 Saudi nationals aged ≥ 18 years participated in the survey. BMI scores were used to categorize participants into three groups: Obese, overweighted and non-obese/non-overweight. Mental well-being was evaluated by using the validated Arabic version of the General Health Questionnaire version 12 (GHQ-12).
We used total GHQ score (Mean=12; SD=5.23) to compare mental well-being between the four BMI class categories. The overall one-way ANOVA model was statistically significant (F = 7.018, d = 6, P < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables, diabetes and smoking statuses we found that higher psychological distress (as evident by a higher total GHQ score) was associated with higher BMI. The unstandardized Beta regression coefficient = 2.627; P = 0.034). Females were more likely to have higher psychological distress than males (unstandardized Beta = 1.466, P = 0.003). Job status whether being unemployed or ‘civilian’ (civil worker) was significantly associated with higher psychological distress (unstandardized Beta = 1.405, P = 0.041). Being diabetic has a 1.6 times higher risk of psychological distress (unstandardized Beta = 1.604, P = 0.027).
The study highlights the public health implications of psychological distress amongst individuals with overweight and obesity in Saudi Arabia. Future longitudinal studies should explore the temporality of this relationship.
Predictors of behavioral dysregulation and social dysfunction in pediatric patients with epilepsy and obesity: Developmental timing matters
2020, Epilepsy and Behavior
Citation Excerpt :
Rates of obesity among pediatric patients with epilepsy are reportedly up to three times higher than the general population [1]. Although pediatric obesity generally has been linked to greater risk of emotional/behavioral difficulties, including anxiety, withdrawn behaviors, and externalizing problems (e.g., bullying, physical/relational aggression) [2], the association between obesity and psychosocial functioning among youth with epilepsy remains understudied. Identifying the relationship between obesity and psychosocial functioning in this clinical population is important as the association between these parameters may worsen emotional and behavioral dysregulation symptoms and/or further exacerbate risk for developmental psychopathology [3].
Childhood obesity has been associated with greater risks of psychopathology, including externalizing behaviors and social dysfunction. However, there has been limited research on the effect of obesity on psychosocial functioning among pediatric patients with epilepsy. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the association between overweight/obesity and behavioral and social functioning among pediatric patients with epilepsy, as function of their developmental status. We completed a retrospective chart review of data (seizure factors, intellectual functioning, caregiver ratings of aggression/defiance and social problems, sex- and age-adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentile) from 30 school-age children and 30 adolescents with epilepsy evaluated through our institute. Body mass index percentile and overweight/obesity status were not associated with seizure variables. Despite controlling for intellectual functioning, overweight/obesity was associated with greater aggression/defiance among child patients but not adolescents. In contrast, adolescence, but not weight status, was associated with social dysfunction. In brief, while early interventions focused on behavior and weight management among children with epilepsy may mitigate risk of aggression and oppositional behavior, among adolescent patients, therapies directed towards promoting interpersonal skills, sense of social competency, and expansion of social support system may reduce psychosocial maladjustment. Findings highlight need to understand the developmental effects of common medical comorbidities on neurobehavioral functioning among youth with epilepsy.
Imbalance in resting state functional connectivity is associated with eating behaviors and adiposity in children
2016, Heliyon
Citation Excerpt :
Self-reported quality-of-life for children who are obese is comparable to children receiving chemotherapy [8]. The stigma of obesity can create feelings of low self-esteem [9], social isolation [10], and victimization [11]. Adolescents who are obese are 80% more likely to have thoughts of suicide compared to healthy weight adolescents [12].
Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity in the US has nearly doubled, while obesity has tripled among adolescents. Non-homeostatic eating, influenced by impulsivity and inhibition, may undermine successful long-term weight loss. We hypothesized that unhealthy eating habits and adiposity among children are associated with functional connectivity between brain regions associated with impulsivity, response inhibition, and reward.
We analyzed resting state functional magnetic resonance images from 38 children, ages 8–13. Using seed-based resting state functional connectivity, we quantified connectivity between brain regions associated with response inhibition (inferior parietal lobe [IPL]), impulsivity (frontal pole), and reward (nucleus accumbens [NAc]). We assessed the relationship of resting state functional connectivity with adiposity, quantified by BMI z-score, and eating behaviors, as measured by the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). We computed an imbalance measure—the difference between [frontal pole:NAC] and [ipl:nac] functional connectivity—and investigated the relationship of this imbalance with eating behaviors and adiposity.
As functional connectivity imbalance is increasingly biased toward impulsivity, adiposity increases. Similarly, as impulsivity-biased imbalance increases, food approach behaviors increase and food avoidance behaviors decrease. Increased adiposity is associated with increased food approach behaviors and decreased food avoidance behaviors.
In the absence of any explicit eating-related stimuli, the developing brain is primed toward food approach and away from food avoidance behavior with increasing adiposity. Imbalance in resting state functional connectivity that is associated with non-homeostatic eating develops during childhood, as early as 8–13 years of age. Our results indicate the importance of identifying children at risk for obesity for earlier intervention. In addition to changing eating habits and physical activity, strategies that normalize neural functional connectivity imbalance are needed to maintain healthy weight. Mindfulness may be one such approach as it is associated with increased response inhibition and decreased impulsivity.
Affect, Body, and Eating Habits in Children: A Systematic Review
2023, Nutrients
Early-life exposures and childhood obesity and overweight in Türkiye
2023, Turkish Journal of Public Health
The Commit to Be Fit framework: a community case study of a multi-level, holistic school-based wellness initiative in rural Virginia
2023, Frontiers in Public Health

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Chapter 24 - The Emotional Impact of Obesity on Children

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