Does Obesity Affect School Performance?

I find it hard to believe that obesity, in itself, would cause lower test scores.  I could understand if it was a portion of the cause, but not solely the cause.  Early in the article it states, "Studies have variously found that obese students -- and especially girls -- tend to have lower test scores than their slimmer peers..."  A question comes to mind as to why girls would be more affected on their test scores than boys.  This statement tells me that the study is more about appearance and/or self-esteem.  People who have been bullied or whom have low self-esteem tend to do more poorly in school.  Obesity can be the cause of low self-esteem.  Logical reasoning would suggest that lower test scores could also be more affected by someone's lack of interest in the subject matter being tested.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/health/obesity-affect-school-performance/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_education+%28RSS%3A+Education%29