Child Obesity Hurts Emotional Health, Study Says.

CHILDHOOD obesity; CHILDREN'S health; MEDICAL care; QUALITY of life

Many obese children in the U.S. rate their quality of life as low as do young cancer sufferers, a study concludes. There is a growing awareness of the long-term health complications of obesity in children and adolescents, yet many pediatricians do not offer treatment to obese children in the absence of other health problems. In the study, 106 children between the ages of five and 18 who had been referred to an academic hospital for evaluation of obesity were asked to rate their physical, emotional, and social well-being, as well as their ability to function normally at school. The authors, led by Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer of the University of California, San Diego, note the similarities in the emotional, social, and psychological states of young cancer patients and obese children.