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Child and Adolescent Affective and Behavioral Distress and Elevated Adult Body Mass Index

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Abstract

Obesity rates throughout the world have risen rapidly in recent decades, and are now a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Several studies indicate that behavioral and affective distress in childhood may be linked to elevated adult body mass index (BMI). The present study utilizes data from a 20-year longitudinal study to examine the relations between symptoms of conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and depression during late childhood and mid-adolescence and BMI during emerging adulthood. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. Results suggest that childhood and adolescent problems may influence adult BMI through direct impacts on adolescent overweight, a condition which then persists into adulthood.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the study participants and their parents in the Bethel, Eugene 4J, and Springfield Public School districts, and the principals and teachers in the participating schools. Special thanks to the many OSLC scientists and staff members who contributed to the LIFT study over the years, and particularly to John B. Reid, for his leadership and mentoring; to Alice Holmes, Theresa Mayne, and Becky Fetrow, for their exemplary work on project coordination over the years; to Kathy Jordan, for her work on data management and analyses; and to Paulina Nowicka and D. Molloy Wilson, for their valuable input on the research topic and analyses. Work on this project was supported by a research and development award from the Oregon Social Learning Center Scientist Council and award numbers R01 MH054248 from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and awards R01 HD054880 and ARRA R01 HD054880 S1 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Equity Promotion, College of Education, University of Oregon, 1571 Alder Street, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Heather H. McClure & Charles R. Martinez Jr.

  2. Partners for Our Children, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    J. Mark Eddy

  3. Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, OR, USA

    Heather H. McClure, J. Mark Eddy, J. Josh Snodgrass & Charles R. Martinez Jr.

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    Heather H. McClure & J. Josh Snodgrass

  5. School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Jean M. Kjellstrand

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  1. Heather H. McClure
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  2. J. Mark Eddy
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  4. J. Josh Snodgrass
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Correspondence to Heather H. McClure.

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McClure, H.H., Eddy, J.M., Kjellstrand, J.M. et al. Child and Adolescent Affective and Behavioral Distress and Elevated Adult Body Mass Index. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 43, 837–854 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-012-0299-9

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