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Title: Health-related quality of life in overweight youth in the Delta

Author
item WARD-BEGNOCHE, WENDY - UAMS
item WEBER, JUDITH - UAMS
item SIMPSON, PIPPA - UAMS
item GOSSETT, JEFF - UAMS
item Bogle, Margaret

Submitted to: International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/13/2007
Publication Date: 6/20/2007
Citation: Ward-Begnoche, W.L., Weber, J., Simpson, P., Gossett, J., Bogle, M.L. 2007. Health-related quality of life in overweight youth in the Delta. Proceedings of International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. p.119.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Purpose: Poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is associated with overweight youth seen in clinic settings. However, community-based samples have found more variability in HRQOL, possibly due to sociocultural differences. The Delta Nutrition Research Initiative (Delta NIRI) study investigates a community sample with high prevalence of overweight children and adolescents. Additionally, this study is large enough to consider the developmental spectrum in analyses. Methods: HRQOL data on 3- to 17-year olds was collected as part of a cross-sectional telephone survey of families in the Delta. Respondents completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) yielding a total HRQOL score and psychosocial and physical subscales. Results/findings: 434 subjects completed the PedsQL. Results show little evidence of HRQOL differences among overweight youth at any age level, suggesting that in communities with a large percentage of overweight individuals in the population, the impact on HRQOL is negligible overall. However, for teens only, the psychosocial subscale was lower for overweight youth than nonoverweight youth. Examination of specific PedsQL items shows overweight teens report more difficulty getting along with peers than their nonoverweight peers. Unexpectedly, they rate their ability to lift heavy objects and their sports/exercise performance as greater than their nonoverweight peers. However, self-reported sedentary time and exercise time were similar for overweight and nonoverweight youth, suggesting that these overweight teens are not actually more "fit". Conclusions: Investigating the HRQOL in this large, at-risk community sample aids in our understanding the relationship between HRQOL, physical activity and overweight youth across the developmental spectrum.