Dataset Information

Obesity impairs academic attainment in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK cohort.

ABSTRACT: While being overweight or obese in adolescence may have detrimental effects on academic attainment, the evidence base is limited by reliance on cross-sectional studies with small sample sizes, failure to take account of confounders and lack of consideration of potential mediators. The present study aimed to address these limitations and examine longitudinal associations between obesity in adolescence and academic attainment.Associations between weight status at 11 years old and academic attainment assessed by national tests at 11, 13 and 16 years were examined in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Healthy weight was defined as body mass index (BMI) Z-score <1.04; overweight as BMI Z-score 1.04-1.63; obesity as BMI Z-score ?1.64.Data from 5966 participants with objectively measured weight status were examined: 71.4% were healthy weight (1935 males; 2325 females), 13.3% overweight (372 males; 420 females) and 15.3% obese (448 males; 466 females).Girls obese at 11 years had lower academic attainment at 11, 13 and 16 years compared with those of a healthy weight, even after controlling for a wide range of confounders. Associations between obesity and academic attainment were less clear in boys. The potential mediating effects of depressive symptoms, intelligence quotient (IQ) and age of menarche in girls were explored, but when confounders were included, there was no strong evidence for mediation.For girls, obesity in adolescence has a detrimental impact on academic attainment 5 years later. Mental health, IQ and age of menarche did not mediate this relationship, suggesting that further work is required to understand the underlying mechanisms. Parents, education and public health policy makers should consider the wide reaching detrimental impact of obesity on educational outcomes in this age group.

SUBMITTER: Booth JN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4189379 | biostudies-other | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Obesity impairs academic attainment in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK cohort.

Booth J N JN Tomporowski P D PD Boyle J M E JM Ness A R AR Joinson C C Leary S D SD Reilly J J JJ

International journal of obesity (2005) 20140311 10

<h4>Objective</h4>While being overweight or obese in adolescence may have detrimental effects on academic attainment, the evidence base is limited by reliance on cross-sectional studies with small sample sizes, failure to take account of confounders and lack of consideration of potential mediators. The present study aimed to address these limitations and examine longitudinal associations between obesity in adolescence and academic attainment.<h4>Design</h4>Associations between weight status at 1 ...[more]

PMID: 24614099

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundAn estimated 40% of cancer cases in the UK in 2015 were attributable to cancer risk behaviours. Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and unprotected sexual intercourse are known causes of cancer and there is strong evidence that physical inactivity is associated with cancer. These cancer risk behaviours co-occur however little is known about how they pattern longitudinally across adolescence and early adulthood. Using data from ALSPAC, a prospective population-based UK birth cohort study, we explored patterns of adolescent cancer risk behaviours and their associations with cancer risk behaviours in early adulthood.MethodsSix thousand three hundred fifty-one people (46.0% of ALSPAC participants) provided data on all cancer risk behaviours at one time during adolescence, 1951 provided data on all cancer risk behaviours at all time points. Our exposure measure was quartiles of a continuous score summarising cumulative exposure to cancer risk behaviours and longitudinal latent classes summarising distinct categories of adolescents exhibiting similar patterns of behaviours, between age 11 and 18 years. Using both exposure measures, odds of harmful drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C ≥ 8),daily tobacco smoking, nicotine dependence (Fagerström test ≥4), obesity (BMI ≥30), high waist circumference (females: ≥80 cm and males: ≥94 cm, and high waist-hip ratio (females: ≥0.85 and males: ≥1.00) at age 24 were estimated using logistic regression analysis.ResultsWe found distinct groups of adolescents characterised by consistently high and consistently low engagement in cancer risk behaviours. After adjustment, adolescents in the top quartile had greater odds of all outcomes in early adulthood: nicotine dependency (odds ratio, OR = 5.37, 95% confidence interval, CI = 3.64-7.93); daily smoking (OR = 5.10, 95% CI =3.19-8.17); obesity (OR = 4.84, 95% CI = 3.33-7.03); high waist circumference (OR = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.94-3.16); harmful drinking (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.57-2.65); and high waist-hip ratio (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.30-2.71), compared to the bottom quartile. In latent class analysis, adolescents characterised by consistently high-risk behaviours throughout adolescence were at higher risk of all cancer risk behaviours at age 24, except harmful drinking.ConclusionsExposure to adolescent cancer risk behaviours greatly increased the odds of cancer risk behaviours in early adulthood. Interventions to reduce these behaviours should target multiple rather than single risk behaviours and should focus on adolescence.

Dataset Information

Obesity impairs academic attainment in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK cohort.

Publications

Obesity impairs academic attainment in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK cohort.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets