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Obesity associated with lower academic attainment in teen girls

Obesity in adolescent girls is associated with lower academic attainment levels throughout their teenage years, a new study has shown.

The research conducted by the Universities of Strathclyde, Dundee, Georgia and Bristol is the most comprehensive study yet carried out into the association between obesity and academic attainment in adolescence. The results are published in the International Journal of Obesity.

The results showed that girls who were obese, as measured by BMI (body mass index) at age 11 had lower academic attainment at 11, 13 and 16 years when compared to those of a healthy weight. The study took into account possible mediating factors but found that these did not affect the overall results.

Attainment in the core subjects of English, Maths and Science for obese girls was lower by an amount equivalent to a D instead of a C, which was the average in the sample.

Associations between obesity and academic attainment were less clear in boys.

University of Strathclyde Professor of Physical Activity and Public Health Science, John Reilly – the Principal Investigator of the study – said: “Further work is needed to understand why obesity is negatively related to academic attainment, but it is clear that teenagers, parents, and policymakers in education and public health should be aware of the lifelong educational and economic impact of obesity.”

Dr Josie Booth, of the School of Psychology at the University of Dundee, said: “There is a clear pattern which shows that girls who are in the obese range are performing more poorly than their counterparts in the healthy weight range throughout their teenage years.”

The study examined data from almost 6000 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), including academic attainment assessed by national tests at 11, 13 and 16 years and weight status. 71.4% were healthy weight (1935 male, 2325 female), 13.3% overweight (372 male, 420 female) and 15.3% obese (448 male, 466 female). The researchers took into account potentially distorting factors such as socio-economic deprivation, mental health, IQ and age of menarche (onset of the menstrual cycle) but found these did not change the relationship between obesity and academic attainment.




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5 thoughts on “Obesity associated with lower academic attainment in teen girls”

  1. This is so sad though. Parents also contribute to this problem. I say this because some parents are spoilers.

  2. True. In addition to social problems, obese children and adolescents tend to have lower self-efficacy and self-esteem. Obese adolescent females were nearly twice as likely as average weight females to report not hanging out with friends, feeling hopeless, having serious emotional
    problems, and attempting to commit suicide (Falkner et al., 2001). Obese males were nearly two times more likely than their average-weight counterparts to report not similar outcomes. In general, obese girls were also more likely to perceive themselves as below average students and not expect to finish college (Falkner et al., 2001).

  3. From what I’ve observed,these overweight
    females struggled to interpret and thus communicate their feelings appropriately as well as
    connect with their peers. Obese adolescents also face social consequences in addition to
    academic ones. Although an important area to examine in its own right, social and emotional
    skills and behaviors contribute to the way children learn in the classroom.

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  4. It’s true that a healthier person is smarter than unhealthy (obese) people, because of the higher energy, better blood flow and, as the saying correctly says a healthy body= a healthy mind. You must remember that the study did not take into account IQ levels, obviously there will be exceptions where obese people do better than healthy people but that is because they are blessed with a higher IQ. The study therefore proves that on average healthier people are smarter than obese people, so being obese is not only bad for your health but also your mind

  5. u14038855: The results of this study make complete sense as people that are obese do not exercise as much as fitter, healthier people and it has been proven that exercise stimulates good blood flow and higher natural energy levels which results in better academic results. However this study cannot say that every obese female does not achieve academically as there are many overweight women I know who are more academically brilliant than some skinny women I know.

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