Obese children miss more school than their peers, leading to increased drug use and pregnancies and other problems later in life. Try these tips for losing weight. A study by the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University found that obese children are more likely to play truant than their normal-weight peers. They found that body mass index has as strong an impact on absenteeism as the four major predictors of skipping class: race, age, socioeconomic status and gender. An obese child may foresee other negative consequences. Obese children miss more school due to being bullied.