Obesity linked to school absenteeism

Obese elementary schoolchildren miss a couple more school days on average than their normal-weight classmates, according to a study that says being fat is a better predictor for absenteeism than any other factor. Researchers said their results suggest that childhood obesity, in addition to serious medical issues, can lead to a plethora of additional problems down the road. Of 180 school days, researchers found that on average the normal–weight students missed 10.1 days, overweight kids missed 10.9 days and obese children missed 12.2 days. For reasons that aren’t clear, underweight children had the fewest absences—7.5 on average. Read the Associated Press story at knoxnews.com.