Associations between obesity and developmental functioning in pre-school children: a population-based study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine associations between obesity and impairment in developmental functioning in a general population sample of pre-school children.


METHODS
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% (chi (2)=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.
Mond
J M
JM
School of Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. jonathan.mond@jcu.edu.au
Stich
H
H
Hay
P J
PJ
Kraemer
A
A
Baune
B T
BT
D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012919:Social Behavior