Psychologists and public health researchers from the University of Liverpool and Maynooth University, analyzed data of more than 8,000 records of children with overweight and obesity in the U.K., roughly half at age 11 years and the other at age 14. Better psychological well-being at age 11 was associated with an increased likelihood of the reversal of overweight and obesity.

The study analyzed caregiver-reported mental health (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and child-reported psychosocial well-being (self-esteem, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, appearance satisfaction and peer bullying).

While psychological well-being measures at age 11 were associated with the reversal of obesity and overweight at age 17, these measures at age 14 were not associated with subsequent reversal. The study suggests late childhood/ early adolescence (age 11) may be a sensitive period in which psychological well-being has a pronounced prospective relationship with body weight trajectories.

The paper, “Psychological well-being and the reversal of childhood overweight and obesity in the UK: a longitudinal national cohort study,” is published in Obesity.

Dr. I Gusti Ngurah Edi Putra, from the Institute of Population Health at the University of Liverpool and lead researcher on the study, said, “This study is the first to show how psychological well-being, specifically at age 11, plays an important role in explaining why some children transitioned into a healthy weight, but the others remained with overweight and obesity by age 17.

“While further work needs to be done to understand why early adolescence is a critical point, we know this is a time in a child’s life when they may be experiencing change—moving up into high school for example. Integrating psychological support into current obesity prevention and treatment, particularly during an age-sensitive period may be important.”

Researchers focused on more than 8,000 children in their UK mass cohort study—taken from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). Known as “Child of the New Century,” cohort members and their families, followed the lives of about 19,000 young people born across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2000–02.

Professor Eric Robinson, senior researcher on the study, from the Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool said, “We have known for some time that overweight and obesity are difficult to live with psychologically and these new findings align with other emerging evidence which suggest that as a society we need to be doing a much better job of supporting people with obesity if we are to ever make serious progress in reducing obesity.”