Introduction
The negative association between socio-economic disadvantage and weight status in childhood is well established, and it is known that weight status impacts adversely on quality of life (QoL). However, there is a knowledge gap regarding these effects among different demographic groups. This study aims to investigate variation in weight status and its relationship with QOL across demographic groups.
Methods
We use longitudinal data on data on 49,837 children aged between 2 and 17 years with repeated measurements of BMI-z and quality of life, measured with the PedsQL. BMI-z was categorized into healthy, overweight or obesity, using WHO defined cut-points for age. Children were categorized to one of nine demographic groups based on parental country of birth and primary language spoken at home. Longitudinal regression methods, accounting for repeated observations among children, investigated the association between weight status and demographic group. We further investigated the association between QoL and weight status by age and whether this was similar across all demographic groups.
Results
Children from some demographic groups were less likely to be in healthy weight in childhood compared to the referent (English) group. These included Aboriginal and Torres strait islander children and those from lower socioeconomic, Middle Eastern, North African, American and Oceania households. After controlling for weight status and socio-economic position, QoL was lower among children from these same groups. QoL declined with increasing age for those with overweight or obesity and declined faster for girls and for those from lower socio-economic groups.
Conclusion
Children from some demographic groups in Australia experience higher BMIz coupled with reduced quality of life. Notably the disparities in quality of life cannot be solely attributed to weight status or socioeconomic position. Tailored and culturally appropriate prevention or treatment programs are needed to address these inequities.