- Young girls report obesity-related joint issues
- Research finds higher GP visits for females
- Obesity-linked to musculoskeletal problems in children
Girls as young as four are visiting the doctor with obesity-related joint problems.
According to data compiled by the National Child Measurement Programme and general practitioner records on 120,000 children, females were nearly twice as likely as their peers to seek medical attention for musculoskeletal issues.
Knee and back injuries were the most prevalent, with experts cautioning that they are the result of overbearing.
However, Queen Mary University of London scholars found no evidence of the same effect in males.
Sixty-three thousand four hundred eighteen reception children aged four to five and 55,364 year-six children aged ten to eleven were analyzed.
At the beginning of primary school, 8.9% of boys and 7.1% of girls were obese, with those figures increasing to 19.9% and 14.4%, respectively, by year six.
In contrast with anonymized GP data, they discovered that 8% of sixth-grade and 3% of reception pupils had at least one GP appointment concerning joint problems.
This included 875 sixth-graders and 194 children aged four and five undergoing repeat consultations.
According to research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, females exhibited a higher propensity to visit their physician.
The initial appointment occurred, on average, nearly three years after the NCMP assessment in reception and slightly more than two years after the assessment in year six.
A quarter (24%) more reception-aged girls who were deemed overweight were likely to visit a general practitioner (GP) at least once for a musculoskeletal issue; this percentage increased to 67% for obese girls.
Queen Mary University’s Nicola Firman stated, “We hope that our findings will raise awareness of the importance of musculoskeletal health issues and encourage further investigation into the relationship between childhood obesity and musculoskeletal health.
“Much more must be done at the policy level to assist families in preventing obesity and, by extension, musculoskeletal pain.”
Back discomfort was reported by 22% of boys and 32% of girls in reception, whereas it was reported by only 30% of boys and 45% of girls in sixth grade.
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Scholars cautioned that inadequate musculoskeletal health in childhood can substantially influence an individual’s quality of life, persisting into adolescence and maturity.
The research team added that musculoskeletal issues may restrict participation in certain physical activities, adding that additional study is required to determine why males were less likely to visit the doctor.
“Therefore, increased weight may contribute to persistent musculoskeletal pain; as a result, children may be trapped in a cycle of obesity and musculoskeletal pain that persists into adolescence and adulthood,” they wrote.
“Building stronger evidence based on the possible causes of joint and muscle pain could lead to policy changes that improve the health of children in East London and nationally,” said Victoria King of Barts Charity, which funded the study.
