Body mass index and parent-reported self-estem in elementary school children: evidence for a causal relationship. Hesketh, Kylie, Wake, M. and Waters, Elizabeth 2004, Body mass index and parent-reported self-estem in elementary school children: evidence for a causal relationship., International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders, vol. 28, pp. 1233-1237, doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802624. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Body mass index and parent-reported self-estem in elementary school children: evidence for a causal relationship. Author(s) Hesketh, Kylie orcid.org/0000-0002-2702-7110 Wake, M. Waters, Elizabeth Journal name International journal of obesity and related metabolic disorders Volume number 28 Start page 1233 End page 1237 Publisher Nature Publishing Group Place of publication Basingstoke, England Publication date 2004 ISSN 0307-0565 1476-5497 Keyword(s) self-esteem body mass index child longitudinal studies Summary OBJECTIVE: To clarify relationships between body mass index (BMI) and self-esteem in young children at a population level. To assess whether low self-esteem precedes or follows development of overweight/obesity in children. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study in elementary schools throughout Victoria, Australia. Child BMI and self-esteem were measured in 1997 and 2000. SUBJECTS: Random sample of 1,157 children who were in the first 4 y of elementary school (aged 5-10 y) at baseline. MEASURES: BMI was calculated from measured height and weight, then transformed to z-scores. Children were classified as nonoverweight, overweight or obese based on international cut-points. Low child self-esteem was defined as a score below the 15th percentile on the self-esteem subscale of the parent-reported Child Health Questionnaire. RESULTS: Overweight/obese children had lower median self-esteem scores than nonoverweight children at both timepoints, especially at follow-up. After accounting for baseline self-esteem, higher baseline BMI z-score predicted poorer self-esteem at follow-up (P=0.008). After accounting for baseline BMI z-score, poorer baseline self-esteem did not predict higher BMI z-score at follow-up. While nonoverweight children with low baseline self-esteem were more likely to develop overweight/obesity (OR=2.1, 95% CI=1.2, 3.6), this accounted for only a small proportion of the incidence of overweight. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show an increasingly strong association between lower self-esteem and higher body mass across the elementary school years. Overweight/obesity precedes low self-esteem in many children, suggesting a causal relationship. This indicates that prevention and management strategies for childhood overweight/obesity need to begin early to minimise the impact on self-esteem. Notes Published online 17 August 2004 Language eng DOI 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802624 Field of Research 111704 Community Child Health HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2004, Nature Publishing Group Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30004244 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Health School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition Related Links Link Description Connected to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Wed, 04 Feb 2009, 08:59:31 EST Mon, 22 Jun 2009, 12:42:37 EST Fri, 09 Apr 2010, 15:07:12 EST Mon, 16 Jun 2014, 07:42:17 EST Wed, 06 Nov 2019, 17:39:13 EST Wed, 19 Jan 2022, 12:36:50 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 119 times in TR Web of Science Cited 133 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 1302 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 07 Jul 2008, 09:16:01 EST