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Behavior Problems Linked to Weight Gain
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Study Suggests Untreated Mental Health Problems Cause Obesity in Kids
By Salynn Boyles WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Grayson, MD on
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
Nov. 4, 2003 - Several studies have showed that overweight kids are more likely to have
behavioral problems. Now, intriguing new research suggests the bad behavior may be
causing the weight gain, and not the other way around.
The study showed an increased risk for obesity in children with behavioral problems. The
development of such problems in normal-weight kids was associated with a fivefold
increased risk for becoming overweight within two years, says lead author Julie C.
Lumeng, MD.
"We found that kids are much more likely to become overweight if they have behavioral
problems," she tells WebMD. "We can't say for sure that being overweight doesn't cause
behavioral problems. That may also be true. But what this study really demonstrated was
that the reverse is definitely true."
Weighty Problems
Lumeng says she first noticed the association between behavioral problems and weight
gain while working at an inner-city health clinic. She says parents often brought their
children in to discuss sudden behavioral problems such as dropping grades or acting out
at home.
"I noticed that when I saw the children again a few months later, they had often gained an
enormous amount of weight," she says. "It really made me think that a possible
contributor to the obesity epidemic could be untreated mental health problems that show
up as behavior problems."
To test this theory, Lumeng and colleagues from Boston University School of Medicine
analyzed data from a large-scale, national survey of children. Their sample included 755
children between the ages of 8 and 11 whose parents answered questionnaires about their
weight and behavior. Risk factors associated with childhood obesity were also assessed.
After adjusting for such risk factors, the researchers concluded that behavioral problems
were associated with a threefold increase in risk of becoming overweight. This increase
was similar to other well-recognized risk factors, including living in poverty and having a
mother who was obese.
The findings are published in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The type of behavior problems exhibited did not appear be a factor in whether the
children gained weight. Lumeng says kids who showed aggression or otherwise acted out
were just as likely to become overweight as kids who became withdrawn and showed
other signs of depression.
Depression and Obesity
Although the study could not address why the development of behavioral problems may
cause weight gain, Lumeng says it is clear that behavioral issues are often linked to
depression.
"Kids who are depressed may be more likely to overeat and to sit around watching TV,"
she says. "It is not hard to imagine that a child with untreated depression would be much
more likely to become overweight over a period of a couple of years."
Child psychologist Daniel Armstrong, PhD, says it is possible that behavioral issues may
cause weight gain, but it is just as likely that being overweight causes behavioral
problems. Armstrong, professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami School of
Medicine, says animal studies have suggested a link between depression and obesity, and
ongoing research is exploring whether similar neurochemical pathways in the brain drive
both disorders.
"We are not at the point where we are able to say with authority whether depression
causes obesity or whether obesity causes depression," he tells WebMD. "And at the end
of the day it is not inconceivable that we will find multiple relationships."
SOURCES: Pediatrics, November 2003; vol 112: pp 1138-1145. Julie C. Lumeng, MD,
Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Daniel
Armstrong, PhD, professor of pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine;
director, Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami School of
Medicine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003
WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.
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