title: Overweight in school-aged children associated with emotional and behavioral difficulties: results from a national sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether there is an association between perceived pediatric overweight and emotional/behavioral difficulties among children ages 4 to 17 years in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study
  
  
  METHODS
  Interview of an adult knowledgeable about a child's emotional and physical health. All statistical analyses were completed using SPSS 17.0.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 7096 noninstitutionalized children aged 4 to 17 years identified in the 2007 National Health Interview Survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Included in the 2007 National Health Interview Survey were 7096 noninstitutionalized children aged 4 to 17 years. After controlling for age, gender, race, poverty status, education of mother, family structure, and health status, this study found that 7.4% of the children appeared to be overweight and 5.2% had emotional/behavioral difficulties. It also found that caregivers who indicated that their child had a problem with being overweight were more likely to report that the child experienced emotional/behavioral difficulties compared to caregivers who did not report perceived overweight in their child. Characteristics of the children most frequently reported to be overweight included Hispanic race, older children (ages 15-17 years), and those with higher poverty rates and poorer health status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The continual increase in pediatric overweight and associated emotional/behavioral difficulties suggests a need for replicable interventions that teach child caregivers to recognize and prevent overweight among vulnerable populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, National Center Primary Care, Morehouse School of Medicine, MSTC, ALP, 720 Westview Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. vstaylor@msm.edu
authors.forename: Vera S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: Jiali
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mack
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fry-Johnson
authors.forename: Quentin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Charlie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology