What does math have to do with obesity? Quite a lot, it seems. New research from the University of Missouri has found an unlikely link between math smarts and children's weight.
According to lead researcher and associate professor in the MU Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Sara Gable, there are "complex relationships among children's weight, social and emotional wellbeing, academics and time."
Having followed a national sample of more than 6,250 children from kindergarten through fifth grade, Gable then compared data on academic, interpersonal skills and emotional well being vis-a-vis weight and measurements.
Interestingly, boys and girls who were obese from the start of kindergarten through to fifth grade performed worse on the math tests than those who were never obese or whose obesity only emerged in later grades.
In addition to this unusual link, researchers also found a correlation between obesity and lack of social skills, feelings of sadness and anxiety. Self-esteem is clearly a factor that shapes a child's emotional wellbeing, but more research is needed to pinpoint exactly why and how weight affects academic performance.
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