Published online January 26, 2009
PEDIATRICS Vol. 123 No. 2 February 2009, pp. 697-702 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-0687)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by BeLue, R.
Right arrow Articles by Colaco, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by BeLue, R.
Right arrow Articles by Colaco, B.
Related Collections
Right arrow Nutrition & Metabolism
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

ARTICLE

Mental Health Problems and Overweight in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents: Effects of Race and Ethnicity

Rhonda BeLue, PhDa, Lori Ann Francis, PhDb and Brendon Colaco, MD, MHAa

Departments of a Health Policy and Administration
b Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

OBJECTIVES. In this study we examined the relation between mental health problems and weight in a population-based study of youth aged 12 to 17 years and whether the association between mental health problems and weight is moderated by race and ethnicity.

METHODS. We used 2003 National Survey on Children's Health data. Logistic regression was used to arrive at adjusted odds ratios showing the relation between BMI and mental health problems.

RESULTS. Compared with their nonoverweight counterparts, both white and Hispanic youth who were overweight were significantly more likely to report depression or anxiety, feelings of worthlessness or inferiority, behavior problems, and bullying of others. Odds ratios relating mental health problems and BMI in black subjects were not statistically significant except for physician diagnosis of depression.

CONCLUSIONS. Our results suggest that, when addressing youth overweight status, mental health problems also need to be addressed. Given that the relationship between mental health problems and youth overweight differs according to race/ethnic group, public health programs that target overweight youth should be cognizant of potential comorbid mental health problems and that race/ethnicity may play a role in the relationship between mental health and overweight status.

Key Words: adolescent health • black • Latino health • mental health • obesity

Abbreviations: NSCH—National Survey of Children's Health • CDC—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • OR—odds ratio

Accepted Jun 4, 2008.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?