Physical and psychosocial quality of life in children with overweight and obesity from Sri Lanka

Abstract

Background While childhood obesity is rising rapidly in South Asia, there is limited research on quality of life (QoL) of children with overweight and obesity from the region. This study assessed physical and psychosocial QoL in Sri Lankan children attending a specialized obesity clinic, from both children’s and parents’ perspective, and modifiable social factors affecting QoL. Methods We performed cross-cultural translation of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL™) 4.0 (Child-Self Report and Parent-Proxy forms), and assessed self-reported and parental-perception of physical and psychosocial QoL in 8–12 year-olds with overweight and obesity (n=110), referred for obesity management at a tertiary-care children’s hospital in Sri-Lanka. Body mass index (BMI) and pre-selected social factors affecting QoL were also assessed. Data were analyzed by non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon test and Spearman correlation). Results The median physical QoL was lower than psychosocial QoL (78.1vs81.7, p=0.032) and physical QoL was inversely correlated with BMI. Parental-perception of children’s physical and psychosocial QoL correlated with child-reported QoL, but was lower. Being bullied (p=0.001) and not getting regular exercise (p=0.031) were associated with lower psychosocial QoL. Both physical and psychosocial QoL were lower in children having difficulties in finding suitable clothes (p< 0.001). Conclusions Children with overweight and obesity from Sri Lanka appeared to have greater impairment of physical QoL than psychosocial QoL. Higher BMI, bullying, lack of regular exercise and lack of suitable clothing, negatively affected QoL. Potential strategies to improve QoL include promoting regular exercise, addressing bullying and promoting availability of children’s clothes in larger sizes to fit children with overweight and obesity.

Bullying among children and adolescents in the SAARC countries: A scoping review

“… Dema et al., 2019 Bhutan 5809 13–17 School Cross-sectional research 25.6% Suicidal ideas aPR 1.3 Suicidal attempts aPR 1.6 7. Gunawardana et al., 2021 Sri Lanka 110 8–12 Clinic based Cross-sectional research NA Psychiatric quality of life was significantly lower in obese/overweight children subject to bullying 8. Haque et al., 2021 Bangladesh 1416 11–17 Community Cross sectional research 24.29% bullied by siblings Children who were bullied by their siblings had an increased risk of psychological abuse but, not neglect by adults 9.…”

“…In the past 12 months have you been sexually harassed or teased? Beattie et al., 2019 NA No information mentioned No information mentioned Bhatt et al., 2020 ; Gunawardana et al., 2021 ; Hettiarachchi et al., 2018 ; Mansoor and Shahzad, 2020 NA CFA = Confirmatory Factor Analysis, NA = Not applicable. …”

“…No information on the assessment of bullying or victimization was provided for 4 of the studies included in the review ( Bhatt et al., 2020 ; Gunawardana et al., 2021 ; Hettiarachchi et al., 2018 ; Mansoor and Shahzad, 2020 ).…”

Time-Limited Eating and Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Adolescents with Obesity: A Pilot Study

“…Pediatric Quality of Life Scale (PedsQL): Quality of life was measured utilizing the Pediatric Quality of Life Scale (PedsQL), which is a 10-item questionnaire designed to assess quality of life parameters for youth under 19 years of age [36,[44][45][46][47]. The Ped-sQL is a brief, standardized, generic assessment instrument that systematically assesses patients' and parents' perceptions of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in pediatric patients [44,46,48].…”

Fatores associados à qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde em adolescentes escolares com excesso de peso na pandemia de COVID-19

“…A Qualidade de Vida Relacionada à Saúde (QVRS) é um conceito que envolve três principais dimensões da saúde, sendo física, psicológica e social, que somadas podem indicar um resultado que representa a saúde geral (Bacchini et al, 2017;Gunawardana et al, 2021). A literatura aponta determinantes da QVRS em adolescentes, como nível socioeconômico, alimentação, estado nutricional, nível de atividade física, autoimagem, tempo de tela, sintomas depressivos e suporte social (Nascimento et al, 2016;Pussieldi;Pereira, 2018;D'avila et al, 2019;Liu et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2018;Otto et al, Research, Society and Development, v. 10, n. 13, e181101320974, 2021 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i13.20974 3 2017).…”