Abstract
Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges in the world with childhood prevalence rates between 20–26% and numerous associated health risks. The aim of the current study was to analyze the 11-year follow-up data of the Ulm Birth Cohort Study (UBCS), to identify whether abnormal eating behavior patterns, especially restrained eating, predict body mass index (BMI) at 11 years of age and to explore other factors known to be longitudinally associated with it. Of the original UBCS, n = 422 children (~ 40% of the original sample) and their parents participated in the 11-year follow-up. BMI at age 8 and 11 as well as information on restrained eating, psychological problems, depressive symptoms, lifestyle, and IQ at age 8 were assessed. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to predict children’s BMI scores at age 11. PLS-SEM explained 68% of the variance of BMI at age 11, with BMI at age 8 being the most important predictor. Restrained eating, via BMI at age 8 as well as parental BMI, had further weak associations with BMI at age 11; no other predictor was statistically significant. Since established overweight at age 8 already predicts BMI scores at age 11 longitudinally, obesity interventions should be implemented in early childhood.
Highlights
Childhood obesity prevalence rates range worldwide between 6–27% for males and 5–17% for females [1, 2]
The aim of the current study is to analyze the 11-year follow-up data and (a) to identify whether abnormal eating behavior patterns, especially restrained eating, assessed at the age of 8 predict body mass index (BMI) at 11 years of age and (b) to explore whether other factors that have been identified as significant predictors in the literature (i. e. parental BMI, socio-economic factors, physical activity, general child psychopathology and depressive symptoms; see above) are longitudinally associated with BMI at age 11
We considered a p-value of .05 to be significant
Summary
Childhood obesity prevalence rates range worldwide between 6–27% for males and 5–17% for females [1, 2]. Obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges in the world [1] with numerous associated physical health risks (among others e.g. cardiovascular and endocrinological diseases, type-2 diabetes, pubertas praecox in females and tarda in males, sleep disorders, and orthopedic problems; for a review see [1]). An association between obesity and psychological impairments, such as increased general psychopathology, and .
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