Adiposity and Early Adolescent Emotional/Behavioral Problems

ObjectiveTo examine whether life course adiposity is associated with emotional/behavioral problems in a non-Western developed setting with little social patterning of adiposity.Study designIn a prospective, population-representative Chinese birth cohort, “Children of 1997,” multivariable partial least squares regression was used to assess the adjusted associations of birth weight z-score, body mass index (BMI) z-scores at ages 3 months, 9 months, 3 years, 7 years, 9 years, and BMI z-score changes with emotional/behavioral problems at ∼11 years of age, assessed from the Chinese version of the Revised Parent's Rutter Scales.ResultsRutter score was available for 4976 (62.8% follow-up). Birth weight z-score, BMI z-scores at ages 3 months, 9 months, 3 years, 7 years, 9 years, and successive BMI z-scores changes had little association with Rutter score or subscores at ∼11 years of age, adjusted for socioeconomic position, although birth weight was negatively associated with specifically hyperactivity.ConclusionsIn a developed, non-Western setting, we did not find adiposity be a factor in the development of emotional/behavioral problems in early adolescence. Although, we cannot rule out the possibility of residual confounding by genetic or familial factors, our results suggest that the reported associations may be contextually specific rather than biologically based. Whether lower birth weight is associated with hyperactivity in early adolescence needs to be confirmed or refuted in other suitable settings.