ArticlePediatric obesity2025
Childhood obesity trajectories and adolescent mental health: A UK cohort study.
Article in Pediatric obesity, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Weekly frequency of school-based HIIT improves adiposity and fitness in children with obesity.iScience · 2026Article
- Infant social withdrawal and rapid infant weight gain.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Childhood Obesity: Global Burden, Multifactorial Etiologies, Biological Mechanisms, and Emerging Interventions for Prevention and Management.Saudi medical journal · 2026Review
- Didactic adaptation of basketball in physical education to reduce anxiety and emotional eating in adolescent girls with obesity: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Psychosocial factors and the development of childhood overweight and obesity: a UK cohort study.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Article
- Childhood obesity trajectories and adolescent mental health: A UK cohort study.Pediatric obesity · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThere is limited evidence on how changes in obesity from childhood to adolescence are associated with adolescent mental health. We examined the associations between childhood obesity trajectories, obesity episodes, and mental health at age 17.
methodsData were from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Obesity trajectory groups at ages 7 and 17 (n = 8306) and previous obesity episodes (number of sweeps with obesity) at ages 7, 11 and 14 (n = 7246) were examined. Caregiver and self-reported internalising and externalising symptoms at age 17 were used to measure mental health. Linear regression models were used.
resultsRelative to never developing obesity, obesity development (β = 1.01; 95% CI = 0.71, 1.32) and persistence (β = 1.18; 95% CI = 0.74, 1.61) were associated with higher internalising symptoms at age 17 and worsening (increase in scores) of these symptoms between ages 7 and 17 (β = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.57, 1.17 and β = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.56, 1.26 for development and persistence, respectively). Obesity development was associated with higher externalising symptoms at age 17 (β = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.25, 0.80) and worsening of these symptoms over time (β = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.53). Having multiple past obesity episodes was not associated with worsening mental health independent of follow-up weight status. There were no differences in mental health outcomes between children who reversed versus never developed obesity.
conclusionsObesity development or persistence from ages 7 to 17 are associated with worsening mental health. If childhood obesity is reversed, there appears to be no evidence of a negative association between previous obesity and mental health at age 17.
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