Shift-and-persist: a protective factor for elevated BMI among low-socioeconomic-status children

Abstract

Objective: Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including childhood overweight and obesity. However, little is understood about why some children defy this trend by maintaining a healthy weight despite living in obesogenic environments. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that the psychological strategy of "shift-and-persist" protects low-SES children from overweight and obesity. Shift-and-persist involves dealing with stressors by reframing them more positively while at the same time persisting in optimistic thoughts about the future.

Design and methods: Middle school children (N = 1,523, ages 9-15) enrolled in a school-based obesity prevention trial completed health surveys and physical assessments. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the role of SES, shift-and-persist strategies, and their interaction on BMI z-scores, while controlling for student race/ethnicity, gender, and reported diet and physical activity.

Results: Among children reporting engaging in less frequent shift-and-persist strategies, lower SES was associated with significantly higher BMI z-scores (P < 0.05). However, among children reporting engaging in more frequent shift-and-persist strategies, there was no association of SES with BMI z-score (P = 0.16), suggesting that shift-and-persist strategies may be protective against the association between SES and BMI.

Conclusions: Interventions aimed at improving psychological resilience among children of low SES may provide a complementary approach to prevent childhood overweight and obesity among at-risk populations.

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.

Figures

FIGURE 1

Mean BMI z-scores by SES and level of shift-and-persist. Shift-and-persist level was split at the mean. Low SES was significantly associated with higher BMI z-score for those low in shift-and-persist, but not for those high in shift-and-persist.