The increasing rates of overweight and obesity in children has many parents, teachers, and doctors concerned for the health of U.S. youth. Many parents have heard that childhood obesity can lead to long-term problems like diabetes and heart disease, but excess body weight can result in health problems during childhood, too. Researchers from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati in Ohio examined the effect of childhood obesity on recovery after an ankle sprain.
One hundred sixty-four 8- to 18-year-old children who visited the emergency department between March 2002 and September 2002 for an ankle injury and their parents participated in the study. Each child was weighed and measured in the emergency department so body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fatness, could be calculated. (BMI is described in percentiles; in this study, a child was considered overweight when he or she had a BMI score at the 85th percentile or above and obese when he or she had a score at the 95th percentile or above.) Six weeks and 6 months after the hospital visit, parents and their children answered questions during a phone interview about whether the child experienced persistent pain, weakness, or swelling; pain during or after exercise; or recurrent ankle injury.
Overweight children were more likely to have pain during activity and to experience persistent swelling and weakness. Forty-four percent of the overweight kids had persistent ankle problems 6 months after the initial injury, whereas only 24% of kids with weight under the 85th percentile had persistent ankle problems. Half of all obese kids continued to have ankle problems at 6 months. In the overweight and obese kids, the greater a child's body weight, the greater the risk of problems.
What This Means to You: According to the results of this study, being overweight may make it more difficult for kids and teens to heal after injuries like ankle sprains, and in adults, obesity is a major risk factor for joint dislocations, hip fractures, and ankle fractures. If your child is overweight and has experienced an ankle injury, talk to your child's doctor about how to avoid future injury and the best ways for your child to stay active and healthy, including weight management recommendations.
Source: Nathan L. Timm, MD; Jacqueline Grupp-Phelan, MD, MPH; Mona L. Ho, MS; Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, January 2005
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: February 2005
