Movement behaviors, psychosocial well-being and childhood obesity: the IDEFICS/I.Family cohort

Background: Understanding the association between movement behaviors and psychosocial well-being at a young age seems essential for effective interventions and moving friendly environments, particularly in the context of childhood obesity. Objectives: to examine the association between adherence to movement behavior guidelines and psychosocial well-being, and whether obesity indices moderate this association. Methods: The IDEFICS/IFamily cohort followed European children aged 2–16 years over 6 years, including 7359 repeated observations across three waves. Longitudinal associations between adherence to movement behavior recommendations and psychological well-being were assessed using generalized linear models. Obesity indicators, z-score body mass index (z-BMI) and z-score waist circumference (z-BMI) were used to test their moderating role. Results: Lower adherence to movement behaviors was negatively associated with psychosocial well-being (β = −0.39, 95%CI: −0.77, 0.00), with stronger effects in males (β = −0.70, 95%CI: −1.20, −0.20). Moreover, effects were larger in participants with overweight/obesity (β = −1.29, 95%CI: −2.21, −0.37). Obesity indices moderated the association between movement behaviors and psychosocial well-being (β = −0.40, 95%CI: −0.80, −0.06 for z-BMI; β = −0.36, 95%CI: −0.82, −0.03 for z-WC). Conclusions: Adherence to movement behavior guidelines was associated with psychosocial well-being, especially in males and individuals with overweight or obesity. These findings highlight the potential relevance of movement behavior patterns for psychosocial well-being and obesity prevention, while acknowledging the observational nature of the data.