Obesity and poorer school attendance go hand in hand

Aug 12 2007

New research in the U.S. has found that there is a connection between school attendance and obesity.

The researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University conducted a study of of than 1,000 fourth, fifth and sixth-grade children in the Philadelphia elementary school system and found that obese children are more likely to miss school days than their normal-weight classmates.

The study suggests that childhood obesity has wide-ranging implications and not only augers for serious medical issues but can also lead to many other problems such as drugs, AIDS and teenage pregnancy.

The study carried out at nine inner-city Philadelphia elementary schools was based on the children's BMI (body mass index), which relates height to weight.

The researchers found that BMI is an 'as significant factor' as the four main predictors for missing school in determining absenteeism, age, race, socioeconomic status and gender.

The study found that overweight children were absent on average 20 percent more than their normal-weight peers.

Obese or overweight children missed 12 days of school during the school year, compared with 10 days for kids with normal weight but underweight children had the fewest absences, of 7.5.

The researchers suggest that though it is unclear exactly why obese children missed more school, the reason could be attributed to obesity-related illnesses.

Obese kids are also often subjected to more bullying than normal weight kids which makes them less interested in going to school.

The study is published in the journal Obesity.