Abnormal body mass index (BMI) has been shown to be associated with mental health issues in both adults and young. It has been shown that obese people have an increased risk of developing depression and that adolescents and children with higher BMIs have worse emotional and social problems. Being underweight in childhood has also been associated with higher risk of psychosocial problems. However, these studies have only looked at the effect of BMI at a particular time. They have not looked at the effect of change in BMI and whether different patterns of change are associated with increased or decreased risk of developing mental health problems. Our aim with this project is to assess whether change in BMI (both increasing or decreasing) over the period from childhood to early adolescence is associated with risk of developing mental health problems. This should inform about interventions to improve adolescent mental health and prevent development of psychopathology.
