Childhood self-control predicts trajectories of weight gain and obesity throughout life in two British cohorts

Abstract

Background: We aimed to test whether childhood self-control contributes to weight gain and obesity throughout life. Methods: 25,619 participants were drawn from two nationally-representative British prospective birth cohort studies; the British Cohort Study (BCS) and the National Child Development Study (NCDS). Child self-control was teacher-rated at age 10 in the BCS and ages 7 and 11 in the NCDS using measures which correlate strongly with contemporary self-control scales. Participants reported their height and weight at five time-points between ages 16 and 42 in the BCS and six time-points between ages 16 and 55 in the NCDS. Objectively recorded body mass index (BMI) was available at one wave in the NCDS. Childhood BMI, parental BMI, socioeconomic background, intelligence, and psychological distress were controlled for in all analyses. Results: Early self-control negatively predicted weight gain and obesity in both cohorts (p<.001), an association that increased in strength with age (p<.001). In adjusted regression models, the difference in BMI/obesity levels between those with low (-1SD) and high self-control (+1SD) increased from 0.1 points/0.5% at age 16 to 1 point/4.9% by midlife across both studies. The association between childhood self-control and BMI did not differ depending on whether BMI was self-reported (b =-0.282, SE =0.059, p<.001) or measured as part of a medical assessment (b =-0.280, SE =0.066, p<.001). Discussion: This study provides strong evidence that better childhood self-control predicts lower levels of weight gain and obesity throughout adulthood. The benefits of self-control in attenuating weight gain may increase markedly from adolescence to midlife.