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Associations between obesity and developmental functioning in pre-school children: a population-based study

International Journal of Obesity volume 31, pages 1068–1073 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

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% (χ2=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.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Mond is supported by an NHMRC Public Health Fellowship. Thanks also to Dr Alison Field for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    J M Mond, P J Hay & B T Baune

  2. Department of Public Health Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany

    H Stich & A Kraemer

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  1. J M Mond
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  2. H Stich
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  3. P J Hay
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  4. A Kraemer
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  5. B T Baune
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Correspondence to J M Mond.

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Mond, J., Stich, H., Hay, P. et al. Associations between obesity and developmental functioning in pre-school children: a population-based study. Int J Obes 31, 1068–1073 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803644

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