Introduction: The prevalence rates of obesity have increased in recent decades; despite leveling off in recent German studies among children and adolescents, obesity rates remain high. Psychosocial factors have an adverse impact on the maintenance of obesity. Hence, this study examined the mediating effects of mental health problems on the relation between the body mass index standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) and global health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among adolescent inpatients with obesity while controlling for gender and age-group. Methods: Three simple mediation analyses with gender and age-group as covariates were conducted for n = 313 adolescents with obesity (n_female = 193, 61.7%) aged 12–17 (M = 14.19, SD = 1.52; BMI-SDS: M = 2.67, SD = 0.52). The adolescents were asked to report their global HRQoL at admission, and their parents estimated the children’s mental health problems at home prior to inpatient rehabilitation. Results: Emotional, peer-related, and conduct problems mediated the unfavorable effects of BMI-SDS on global HRQoL, showing high, moderate, and small effect sizes, respectively (completely standardized indirect effect of emotional problems: β = −0.09, SE = 0.03, 95% B-CI = −0.15 to −0.04; conduct problems: β = −0.03, SE = 0.02, 95% B-CI = −0.06 to −0.01; peer-related problems: β = −0.10, SE = 0.03, 95% B-CI = −0.16 to −0.05). Conclusion: Mental health problems may be one salient pathway through which BMI-SDS impairs global HRQoL among adolescents with obesity. Hence, inpatient rehabilitation programs for adolescents with obesity should increase their focus more on the development of psychosocial skills. Thus, the promotion of emotion regulation and social-emotional competencies is suggested.
Obes Facts

中文翻译：

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心理健康问题在肥胖青少年临床样本中的中介作用

简介：近几十年来，肥胖症的患病率有所增加；尽管最近德国对儿童和青少年的研究趋于平稳，但肥胖率仍然很高。心理社会因素对肥胖的维持有不利影响。因此，本研究在控制性别和年龄的情况下，研究了心理健康问题对肥胖青少年住院患者体重指数标准差评分 (BMI-SDS) 与全球健康相关生活质量 (HRQoL) 之间关系的中介作用。 -团体。方法：对n = 313 名肥胖青少年（ n 名_女性= 193, 61.7%) 12-17 岁（M = 14.19，SD = 1.52；BMI-SDS：M = 2.67，SD = 0.52）。青少年被要求在入院时报告他们的整体 HRQoL，他们的父母在住院康复之前在家中估计孩子的心理健康问题。结果：情绪、同伴相关和行为问题介导了 BMI-SDS 对全球 HRQoL 的不利影响，分别显示出高、中和小效应量（情绪问题的完全标准化的间接影响：β = -0.09，SE = 0.03, 95% B-CI = -0.15 到 -0.04；行为问题：β = -0.03，SE = 0.02, 9 5 % B-CI = -0.06 到 -0.01；同龄人相关问题：β = -0.10，SE = 0.03，95% B-CI = -0.16 到 -0.05）。结论：心理健康问题可能是 BMI-SDS 损害肥胖青少年全球 HRQoL 的一个重要途径。因此，针对肥胖青少年的住院康复计划应更多地关注社会心理技能的发展。因此，建议促进情绪调节和社交情绪能力。
肥胖事实