Obese children are 5.5 times more likely than healthy kids to have a poor quality of life. On a 100-point scale, obese children rated their quality of life at an average of 67 (based on the sum total of several wellness indicators)—compared with 83 for healthy, non-obese children surveyed in another study. Results of the study, conducted at the University of California- San Diego, were released in the April 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The rate of childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s.
Register Illustration by Tim Rauch