Does childhood obesity hinder human capital development? Imperial College London

Childhood obesity is a major risk factor for long-term health outcomes. It is a social phenomenon and societal action is needed to prevent it or to minimise its impacts. Engaging and motivating policymakers and others to act requires a fuller understanding of the social and economic benefits of curbing the spread of obesity in children.

This project aimed to establish evidence of the causal impacts of childhood obesity on education, labour market and social outcomes, and on the role of known confounders (which may distort the associations between variables) such as children’s socioeconomic background.

The project team started by conducting the first systematic review of the impact of childhood obesity. Then they carried out analyses of data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the British Cohort Study of 1970, and the National Child Development Study. The research leveraged biomarkers in the ALSPAC cohort and genetic information in all three cohorts to analyse causal pathways.

Key findings

• Childhood obesity negatively affects educational outcomes and is most apparent in adolescence and in girls.
• Adolescents with obesity are less likely to complete a tertiary degree than those with a healthy weight.
• Although childhood obesity does not affect employment outcomes per se, obesity in young adulthood does affect the wages of young workers, with those who are obese in childhood generally earning less in later life.
• Childhood obesity has a negative impact on social relationships. Women with obesity in adolescence and with persistent obesity are less likely to cohabit than women who do not experience obesity. This may have consequences for emotional wellbeing and support, as well as influencing mental health outcomes.

The findings provide powerful framing about how the causal relationship between childhood obesity and education or employment factors can have an impact on life chances.

They also demonstrate the lack of progress that has been made with regards to reducing childhood obesity rates. The findings highlight the importance of a whole-government approach to childhood obesity, and the relevance of childhood obesity to sectors outside of health such as education, work and pensions, and finance.

Contact information

Questions? Please contact Franco Sassi, Professor of International Health Policy and Economics, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Innovation, Imperial College London.

Learn more

For more information about this project, please see the resources below:

Understanding the effect of childhood obesity and overweight on educational outcomes: an interdisciplinary secondary analysis of two UK cohorts

The impact of childhood obesity on human capital in high‐income countries: a systematic review

Evaluating the cost of childhood obesity to social and economic welfare

Molecular mediators of the association between child obesity and mental health