Behavioral problems and overweight in French-Canadian preschoolers: A cross-sectional study
This cross-sectional study examines the relationship between internalizing and externalizing behaviours and overweight in preschool children from Quebec City aged between 3 and 5 years. A total of 330 parents completed the French-Canadian version of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5-5. Based on their body mass index, gender, and age (all self-reported data from the parent), children were classified as normal weight (3rd to 85th percentile) or overweight (> 85th percentile). Normal weight girls showed higher total internalizing scores than their overweight counterparts. Normal weight girls also had higher scores for the anxious/depressed and withdrawn subscales than overweight girls. No significant difference was observed between normal weight and overweight children for externalizing behaviours. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the emergence and direction of the relationship between behavioural problems and overweight in preschool children and the mechanisms involved.