Study shows that successful treatment of obesity in children lowers long -term health risks

The results underline the importance of the effectiveness of treatment in the treatment of obesity in children.

Study: Effect of the treatment of obesity in children on long -term health. Image source: Sergio Arjona/Shutterstock.com

Published in a current study in Jama PediatricsResearchers examined the long -term effects of the treatment of long -term obesity in children for several health consequences in connection with obesity.

Their results indicate that a positive reaction to the treatment of obesity, including remission, can significantly reduce the risk of consequences such as high blood pressure, depression and type 2 diabetes as well as the dying probability in young adulthood.

background

Obesity in children today is a widespread problem worldwide. According to forecasts, 18 % of girls and 20 % of the boys between 5 and 19 years old will be obese by 2035. Obesity in children is associated with health problems such as high blood pressure, insulin resistance and liver diseases and psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. In addition, there is a higher risk for children with obesity in adulthood.

Treatments such as changes in behavior in lifestyle, medication and bariatric surgery have improved short and long-term health indicators in affected children. In Sweden, evidence-based obesity treatments in the past 15 years focused on changes in the lifestyle.

Researchers have used the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Register (Boris), one of the world’s largest databases to treat obesity in children, in several studies to examine the connection between obesity and the associated health complications.

About the study

The researchers used a prospective cohort study design, boris data and information from administrative and national health registers to examine the long-term effects of the treatment of obesity in children.

The participants were adolescents and children (aged 6 to 17) with obesity who had received treatment for one or more years before they were 18.

The study compared these people with a corresponding group from the general population in a ratio of 1: 5 based on gender, year of birth and location. The most important exclusion criteria included people with genetic syndromes, people who had undergone a bariatric operation, had emigrated or died before the follow -up examination.

The primary influence was the effectiveness of the treatment, measured by the changes in the standard deviation value (SDS) of the Body Mass Index (BMI) from the first to the last visit. The response to treatment was classified as bad, mediocre, good or obesity remission.

The health results assessed included high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, anxiety or depression, bariatric operations and mortality. The data was linked to Swedish medical registers to pursue diagnoses, treatments and results.

In the statistical analysis, the Poisson regression was used to compare the incidence rates of the results, and COX regression to evaluate the connection between response to treatment and these results.

The study controlled variables such as gender, age, degree of obesity, socio -economic status and migration background. The subgroup analyzes focused on young people aged 12 to 17.

The aim of the study was to gain insights into account how early treatment of obesity affects long -term health.

Knowledge

The study comprised 6,713 people with an average age of 12.1 years at the beginning of treatment. The participants were divided into the treatment into categories based on their response: bad, mediocre, good or obesity remission. They were compared with 32,402 people from the general population.

The results showed that people in the obesity remission group and the group had less rates with obstacle to obstacle-related health than those in the group with bad address. For example, those in the obesity remission group had a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and dyslipidemia.

The rate of bariatric operations was also lower in the groups with good response and obesity remission. However, the response to the treatment was not associated with a reduced risk of depression or anxiety.

As far as mortality is concerned, people with a good response or a remission of obesity had a significantly lower risk of early death compared to the group with bad address.

No significant connection between the effectiveness of obesity treatment and fractures was found.

Overall, better reactions to the treatment of obesity were associated with improved long-term health results, including a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and mortality.

Conclusions

This study showed that successful treatment of obesity in children reduces the long-term risk of obesity associated with obesity in young adulthood, including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia and premature mortality.

The greatest risk relationships were observed in people who achieved a remission of obesity, although even moderate improvements in obesity were advantageous. However, the study did not reveal any significant influence on the risk of anxiety or depression, which indicates that these diseases require independent treatment.

The study also emphasizes that early treatment of obesity could normalize the risk of premature mortality, since people who respond well to the treatment have mortality rates that resemble those of the general population.

While the rate of bariatric operations in patients with better response to treatment was lower, surgery was still necessary in all treatment groups to a certain extent, which underlines the complexity of obesity management.

Despite a possible weight gain, the study emphasized that a significant reduction in obesity in children is of crucial importance for long -term health. The restrictions included the possible under -registration of diseases treated with changes in the lifestyle, and prejudices in the search for medical care.

Nevertheless, the strengths of the study, such as the large sample and national data, support the conclusion that effective treatment of obesity in children significantly reduces future health risks. However, it does not deal with long -term consequences for mental health.