FAT KIDS BEHAVE BADLY

University of Michigan behavioral pediatrician Julie Lumeng and her former colleagues at Boston University conducted a study which determined that there's a link between childhood obesity and behavior problems. The correlation between obesity and behavior resulted from an intensive long-term survey of 755 children ages 8 to 11 and their mothers.

Just what's behind that connection isn't clear. But children who have significant behavior problems, as described by their parents, are almost three times as likely to be overweight as other children, according to the study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The study also showed that over time children of normal weight who have significant behavior problems are likely to become overweight.

The article concludes by cautioning parents, teachers and physicians that childhood behavioral problems are a predictor of adult mental health issues.