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    The relationship between body mass index and health-related quality of life in urban disadvantaged children


    Wynne, Ciara and Comiskey, Catherine and Hollywood, Eleanor and Quirke, Mary B. and O'Sullivan, Karin and McGilloway, Sinéad (2014) The relationship between body mass index and health-related quality of life in urban disadvantaged children. Quality of Life Research, 23 (6). pp. 1895-1905. ISSN 0962-9343

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    Abstract

    Introduction: The study’s aim was to establish, for children living in urban disadvantage, the nature and extent of the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), including the role of individual and family factors in influencing this relationship. Methods: Within the context of a longitudinal design, 255 children aged 7–12 years (50 % male) self-reported their HRQoL (Kidscreen-27) and had their height and weight measured at year one and two. One parent/guardian for each child was also assessed at year one with the OSLO Social Support Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Regression analysis was also conducted. Results: BMI was weakly inversely associated with ‘total HRQoL’ (r = −.15, p < .05), ‘physical well-being’ and ‘autonomy and parent relations’. Significant differences were found between normal weight and obese children on all but the latter dimension. Neither weight group, however, fell below the average European HRQoL range. BMI predicted physical well-being a year later and vice versa, whilst autonomy and parent relations also predicted BMI a year later. In terms of ‘overweight’ children (38 %), those approaching adolescence had poorer physical and school well-being than younger children, and those whose parents had moderate-to-severe levels of depression fared worse on school well-being than children whose parents were not depressed. Conclusion: The findings suggest that obesity programmes could aim to prevent/reduce obesity and optimise HRQoL in urban disadvantaged preadolescent children whilst also targeting parental mental health difficulties. Future research should examine mediators of the effect of BMI on HRQoL.

    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: Health-related quality of life; Body mass index; Obesity; Children; Disadvantage; Urban; Moderation;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering > Psychology
    Item ID: 9278
    Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-014-0634-7
    Depositing User: Dr. Sinéad McGilloway
    Date Deposited: 27 Feb 2018 15:11
    Journal or Publication Title: Quality of Life Research
    Publisher: Springer International Publishing
    Refereed: Yes
    URI:
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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