Reacción a "High body mass index in childhood may be linked to increased risk of schizophrenia"

The press release accurately reflects the main findings of the study. It is a study of very good methodological quality, with results that support the conclusions reached. However, it should be borne in mind that this is a Mendelian randomisation study and, therefore, the exposure variables of interest in this work, body mass index (BMI) both in childhood and in adulthood, are not measured directly, but through the so-called instrumental variables, which in this case would be genetic variables strongly related to both BMIs.

There is much scientific literature that supports the relationship between BMI and psychiatric disorders, although the main novelty of this study is the fact of studying BMI in childhood.
The translation of the results of this study into practice presents a duality that must be taken into account. On the one hand, the fact that a higher BMI in childhood is related to a higher risk of schizophrenia in adulthood adds to the already strong scientific evidence for the benefits of BMI control in childhood. However, the fact that a higher BMI in adulthood is associated with a lower risk of schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder would not have a clinical application, as such an increase in BMI would imply a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, among other pathologies.