Impact of stress on adolescent obesity: Findings from the NGHS study

Background: Child obesity is a major public health problem. While research has found that chronic psychosocial stress is associated with obesity in adults, relatively little is known about how it affects the risk of childhood obesity. Understanding its impact during adolescence is especially important as this period is characterized by rapid physical and social changes. Methods: To determine if stressful life events during adolescence (“life stress”) are associated with increased Body Mass Index (BMI), we conducted linear regression analyses on adolescent girls (n=1,850) who participated in the NHLBI Growth and Health Study (NGHS). NGHS is a longitudinal cardiovascular disease study that followed black and white 9-10 year old girls for ten years. More than forty primarily negative life events were asked of the girls when they were 16-19 years old. These negative life events occurred to the respondent or a family or friend, and included illness, incarceration, death, unwanted pregnancy, crime, homelessness, parents’ divorce, and academic failure. BMI was obtained from measured height and weight data. Results: The girls experienced a mean (SD) number of life events of 7.3 (4.8) and had a mean (SD) BMI of 25.1 (6.5) kg/m². Adjusting for age, race, and household income, the number of negative life events was positively and significantly associated with BMI [b(SE) = .08 (.02), p=.0006]. Conclusions: Life stress during adolescence is associated with increased obesity risk. Effective interventions to reduce the risk of developing obesity during adolescence should consider the psychosocial stresses that adolescents may experience from negative life events.