Correlation between BMI and Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of Preschool Children in the Los Rios Region, Chile

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Felipe Cañoles Cañoles; Nelson Araneda Garcés; Héctor Silva Mella & Antonio Sanhueza Campos

Summary

The epidemic development of obesity threatens the world's population, registering alarming rates of children who, depending on the age when developed, have a 25% to 75% chance of being obese in adulthood. This problem is especially important in Chile, which has the highest prevalence level in South America. The impact of obesity on emotional health has been described as harmful medical comorbidities associated with it, studying the association between obesity and depressive symptoms predominantly from school age onwards. This study addressed the relationship between obesity and depressive symptoms in Chilean preschool children, where no significant correlations were found, which is discussed considering the findings of other studies that suggest the presence of psychosocial variables that should be studied in this population.

KEY WORDS: Depression; Psychological Stability; Preschool; Nutritional Status.

How to cite this article

CAÑOLES, C. F.; ARANEDA, G. N.; SILVA, M. H. & SANHUEZA, C. A. Correlation between BMI and depressive symptoms in a sample of preschool children in the Los Rios Region, Chile. Int. J. Morphol., 33(3):860-864, 2015.