Written by Hannah Harp
Spoon Feed
Reduced BMI following obesity treatment in childhood was associated with decreased mortality, type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and bariatric surgery as young adults.
An ounce of prevention… worth a pound of cure?
As we’ve discussed recently in JournalFeed, rates of obesity in US adolescents are projected to surpass 30% by 2050. As obesity rates rise, so will rates of its many sequelae. This study assessed the long-term impact of pediatric obesity treatments (including lifestyle changes, pharmacotherapy, and surgical interventions) on morbidity and mortality in young adulthood using a prospective cohort from the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Register (BORIS). Among 6,713 participants who received obesity treatment between ages 6 – 17 years, better treatment response correlated with lower risks of T2DM (HR 0.42, 95%CI 0.23-0.77), dyslipidemia (HR 0.31, 95%CI 0.13-0.75), hypertension (HR 0.40, 95%CI 0.24-0.65), bariatric surgery (HR 0.42, 95%CI 0.30-0.58), and mortality (HR 0.12, 95%CI 0.03-0.46), but not depression/anxiety. The majority (70.2%) of subjects were of Nordic background. The difference between the study population and the general pediatric population in the U.S. was starkest to me in the incidence of pediatric dyslipidemia: 13-20% in the U.S. vs. 0.2% in this population.
How will this change my practice?
Not only is it encouraging to see the long-term effects of pediatric obesity treatments, but I also find it very helpful to have some sort of guidepost for measuring treatment response – in this study, by percent change of absolute BMI-SDS in younger children or percent change in BMI in adolescents. I think this will help me have more internal consistency when it comes to referring kids with obesity for specialist treatment.
Source
Effect of Pediatric Obesity Treatment on Long-Term Health. JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Mar 1;179(3):302-309. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.5552. PMID: 39836390
