Poor Quality of Life for Obese Children
SAN DIEGO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows the quality of life for obese children is just as poor as that experienced by young cancer patients.
Jeffrey Schwimmer, M.D., of the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues used the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) test to assess the condition of 106 obese children between ages 5 and 18.
The children were asked questions about physical, emotional, social, and school-related issues. Their parents also provided input. In addition, medical experts evaluated the children by using physical and laboratory exams to look for obesity-related medical conditions.
Results of the study show the likelihood of experiencing a poor quality of life is 5.5-times greater for obese children than for healthy children. Researchers also found obese children are as likely to be impaired as very sick children with cancer.
The most common medical problems found were fatty liver disease, high insulin levels, and abnormalities in cholesterol.
Results also showed young girls and boys are equally affected by being overweight. Mexican-American boys reported the highest rate of childhood obesity.
Prior to these findings, young cancer patients were believed to have the lowest health-related quality of life scores.
Doctors say the uninformed public, in part, is to blame for the problem. "Many people, including physicians, don't realize that what they perceive as merely a 'chubby' child may actually be an obese child," says Dr. Schwimmer.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of obese children in the United States has increased from 6 percent in the 1970s to 15 percent today.
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003;289:1813-1819
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