Background
Adolescent obesity has led to chronic medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which used to be typically seen in adults. The earlier presentation of these comorbidities will have a significant impact for the future as this group of adolescents will present with complications of these chronic medical conditions at an earlier age and will have a significantly decreased life expectancy. American Academy of Pediatrics expert committee proposed the recognition of a BMI of above 35 kg/m2 , which is above 99th percentile on the BMI chart, as extreme obesity.
Objectives
Objective is to look at the prevalence of adolescents with severe obesity attending a weight management clinic aged 13-17 years old and their co-morbidities.
Methods
This is a retrospective study of children aged 13 to 17 years old, who attended the weight management clinic, from January 2009 to December 2012. Patients’ clinical, anthropometric, polysomnography and metabolic blood test results were collected.
Results
A total of 59 adolescents (64% males) with BMI above 35kg/m2 attended the weight management clinic. Mean age at presentation was 14.9 ± 0.97years. 40 adolescents underwent oral glucose tolerance test and 7 adolescents underwent polysomnography. 4 adolescents had diabetes mellitus based on their oral glucose tolerance test. 4 adolescents had severe obstructive sleep apnea based on polysomnography results.
Conclusion
There is a significant proportion of adolescents with severe obesity attending the weight management clinic with obesity related co-morbidities. More studies should look into the outcomes of adolescents with extreme obesity and the role of surgical treatment.