Researchers at Strathclyde University, Dundee Univerity, Bristol Univeristy and Georgia University looked at data from 6,000 adolescent girls.
They found that girls that were classed as obese at the age of 11 achieved lower academic results over the next five years than those who were deemed a healthy weight.
Prof John Reilly Strathclyde University said that “Further work is needed to understand why obesity is negatively related to academic attainment, but it is clear that teenagers, parents, and policymakers in education and public health should be aware of the lifelong educational and economic impact of obesity.”
Whilst Dr Josie Booth, of the school of psychology at the University of Dundee, said: “There is a clear pattern which shows that girls who are in the obese range are performing more poorly than their counterparts in the healthy weight range throughout their teenage years.”
Attainment in the core subjects such as English, Maths and Science for obese girls was lower by an amount equivalent to a D instead of a C, which was the average in the sample.
Photo Credits: