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Teacher ratings of behavior problems and preschool child odds of obesity
Author(s) -
Okwonga Ajok Beatrice,
HubbsTait Laura,
Henry Nicole,
Kennedy Tay,
Richardson Debbie,
Baker Eric
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.781.21
Subject(s) - overweight , odds , obesity , aggression , odds ratio , psychology , medicine , demography , developmental psychology , pediatrics , clinical psychology , logistic regression , endocrinology , sociology
Study objective was to determine whether teacher ratings of preschool child behavior problems were linked to increased odds of child overweight. Previous findings are inconsistent. Participants were 181 children (mean age = 4.06 ± .53; 102 boys, 79 girls) in Head Start; 62 children (35 boys, 27 girls) were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 85 th %tile). Teacher ratings of three behaviors were linked to increased odds of overweight: relational aggression, p < .05 (OR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.69); bullying, p < .05 (OR=1.71; 95% CI: 1.06 to 2.74), and being teased, p < .05 (OR=1.62; 95% CI: 1.07 to 2.46). Odds of overweight for two behaviors were increased for boys: bullying (OR=2.04; 95% CI: 1.13 to 3.68) and being teased (OR=1.93; 95% CI: 1.09 to 3.41). Future research on links between child overweight and behavior problems should differentiate between relational aggression (gossip and excluding children from play) which is more frequent among girls and bullying which is more frequent among boys. Implications for prevention include education of both parents and teachers about exclusion of children due to overweight and how this differs by gender. Funding: USDA‐CREES OKL0 2605.