Being overweight has a significant effect on a child's quality of life. New research indicates that the more a child is overweight, the poorer quality of life that child will experience, though not to the degree reported in a previous study, according to an article in the January 5, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assocation.
The negative effects of childhood overweight and obesity on quality of life (QOL) have been shown in clinical samples, but not yet in population-based community samples. Health-related QOL, as defined by the World Health Organization, includes an individual's physical, mental, and social well-being.
Joanne Williams, Ph.D., of the Royal Children's Hospital and Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues, examined the hypothesis that QOL scores would decrease with increasing weight.
The researchers found that the parent and child self-reported the scores decreased with an increased weight.
At the subscale level, child and parent reported scores were similar, showing decreases in physical and social functioning for obese children compared with children who were not overweight.
Decreases in emotional and school functioning scores by weight category were not significant.
