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Now it can be told. We have always suspected that there’s a link between the influence of our mind on our habitus or doctor-speak for: the body. In a study that points to the importance of considering both mind and body in children's health, researchers have now found a clear link between childhood obesity and behavioral problems. The fresh-off-the-grill study shows that children who have significant behavior problems, as described by their parents, are nearly three times as likely to be overweight as other children. Hmmm…Dennis the menace might be an exception here, but read on….
Children, the study continues, with behavior problems are as much as five times more likely to become overweight later.
Lead author of the study was Julie Lumeng, M.D., a research investigator at the University of Michigan (U-M) Center for Human Growth and Development and clinical instructor in the U-M Department of Pediatrics. She claims that: “This demonstrates solidly for the first time what we have suspected for years from clinical experience, that there is an association between behavior problems and obesity, and that a child with behavior problems is more likely to go on to be overweight. This is true regardless of socioeconomic status,”
What this means is that we can't ignore either the mind or the body in trying to prevent the lifelong health effects from weight problems and mental disorders that start in childhood. 'When interventions aren't working with a child who is overweight, we need to address his or her mental well-being - and vice versa for kids with behavioral problems. In fact, it builds the case for a team approach when dealing with weight management in general. It becomes even more acutely needed when other dimensions of the problem arise.
Lumeng and her colleagues stress that the majority of the overweight children in the study did not have a major behavior problem -- only that there was a significant correlation between the two. Twenty-one percent of the children with behavior problems were overweight, as opposed to 11 percent of the children without behavior problems.
But with increasing data on Filipino children now considered overweight, and an increasing awareness that childhood behavioral problems are a predictor of adult mental health issues, the finding should be a wake-up call to parents, teachers and physicians. It brings to fore the need to look always into the multiple dimensions of being overweight or obese: the physical, the psychological/behavioral, as well as the social dimension. Towards a multi-dimensional approach, the “team” should have a multi-pronged program that deals with the medical problems, diet, exercise/physical activities, as well as behavioral modification strategies. That will hopefully spell sustained success!
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