Health‐Related Quality of Life Differs by Weight Status Among Swedish 10‐Year‐Old Children Within the Halland Health Growth Study

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and weight status among 10-year-old children. METHODS: A total of 816 children participating in the Halland Health Growth Study completed the KIDSCREEN-27 questionnaire, assessing five dimensions of health-related quality of life. Height and weight measurements were obtained from school health services. Underweight, normal weight and overweight including obesity were defined using the International Obesity Task Force body mass index cut-offs. RESULTS: One hundred and one children (12.4%) were classified as having overweight and 77 children (9.4%) as having underweight. In this study, children with underweight demonstrated lower T-score for physical well-being than children with normal weight. Furthermore, the study showed that children with overweight had lower mean scores across all dimensions of KIDSCREEN-27. Analysed by sex, girls with overweight reported lower mean T-score regarding physical well-being, while boys with overweight had lower mean T-scores in all dimensions. Low physical well-being, T-score < 40, was more often reported by children with overweight (10.3% vs. 4.9%, p = 0.012, OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.20-6.94). CONCLUSION: At 10 years of age, children with overweight reported lower overall HRQoL than children with normal weight and boys were more negatively affected than girls.