Liverpool: Mental health in the early years of life is linked to obesity in boys, a new study has found.
Research from the University of Liverpool and Maynooth University found that better mental health and psychosocial well-being at age 11 was associated with reversing the likelihood of being overweight or obese by age 17. .
The researchers noted that age 11 may be a sensitive period related to future body weight.
The study, published in the journal Obesity, studied more than 8,000 young people.
Among these youth, 4556 11-year-old and 3791 14-year-old overweight or obese children were studied.
Psychological well-being was rated using responses from children and their caregivers on issues such as self-esteem, happiness with life, depressive symptoms, social support, satisfaction with appearance and online bullying. .
About 16 percent of the 11- and 14-year-olds were classified as overweight or obese, while 12 percent of the 11-year-olds and 4 percent of the 14-year-olds were classified as normal at age 17. It will be considered as having weight.
