Psychological well-being and the reversal of childhood overweight and obesity in the UK: a longitudinal national cohort study

Objective

This study aimed to examine the prospective association between psychological well-being and overweight and obesity reversal.

Methods

We analyzed data of UK children with overweight or obesity at ages 11 (n = 4556, baseline), 14 (n = 3791, baseline), and 17 years (follow-up). Psychological well-being-related measures were characterized into indexes of caregiver-reported child mental health and child-reported psychosocial well-being, with a higher score indicating better mental health or psychosocial well-being. Weight changes were presented as reversal versus persistence of overweight or obesity and residualized-change BMI z scores. Data were analyzed using regression analysis.

Results

Better child mental health and psychosocial well-being at age 11 years were independently associated with increased odds of reversal versus persistence (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.29; OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.44, respectively) and decreased BMI z scores (β = −0.08, 95% CI: −0.13 to −0.03; β = −0.07, 95% CI: −0.11 to −0.03, respectively) at age 17 years. However, neither of the indexes was associated with weight changes when measured at age 14 years. Analyses between psychological well-being-related measures and timing of measures indicated that psychological well-being-related measures were more likely to prospectively predict weight changes when measured at age 11 versus age 14 years.

Conclusions

Better psychological well-being at age 11 years is a prognostic factor that may be associated with an increased likelihood of reversing childhood overweight and obesity by age 17 years.