Research suggests girls aged 4 to 11 who are overweight or obese are more likely to see their GP at least once for a musculoskeletal problem than girls of a healthy weight It has been.
Students whose BMI in their acceptance year is considered overweight are 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal problem, and their peers living with obesity are 24% more likely to see a doctor at least once for a musculoskeletal problem; were 67% more likely to do so than female students of average weight. The research revealed that.
Sixth grade girls with obesity were also 20% more likely to see a GP for musculoskeletal problems, while boys whose BMI would be considered underweight were less likely to see a doctor than children of a healthy weight. 61% less likely to.
Knee and back symptoms and diagnoses were the most commonly recorded, according to the findings, which focused on one area of London and are published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal.
Nicola Furman, a health data scientist at Queen Mary University of London and lead author of the study, said: “Longitudinal studies investigating the association between obesity and childhood musculoskeletal health There are only a few.
“We previously conducted a systematic review, which reported that the evidence was lacking and generally of fair to moderate quality.
“We are investigating the impact on musculoskeletal health of children living with obesity in primary school, in an ethnically diverse UK population with high levels of childhood obesity and poverty. .”
Among children in the intake year who had at least one musculoskeletal examination, 46% of boys and 41.5% of girls reported knee pain. For children in the 6th grade, the corresponding percentages were 40.4% and 36%.
Among children in the intake year, 22% of boys and 32% of girls reported low back pain, compared with 30% of boys and 45% of girls in Year 6.
Reception year girls with obesity were more likely to see a doctor for musculoskeletal problems than girls of healthy weight, but there was no difference among boys.
Fuhrman further added, “There have been several studies in Spain and the United States that have reported an increased incidence of back pain among girls, but not among boys. , there is less longitudinal evidence investigating the association between obesity and obesity. [and] Musculoskeletal health in childhood. ”
The sample included primary school students from four ethnically diverse local authorities in north-east London.
In response to the findings, Obesity Health Alliance director Katherine Jenner said: “Elementary school children should be running around on the playground, not sitting in a doctor's waiting room in pain.
“Governments have obesity strategies that could change the trajectory of these children, but so far they have failed to implement most of them, and the goal of halving childhood obesity by 2030 is increasingly It’s becoming unattainable.”