School-age girls with obesity are more likely to experience joint and muscle pain, finds study

Women with weight problems are extra probably than youngsters with a wholesome weight to expertise ache of their bones, joints, muscle groups, ligaments or tendons, in keeping with analysis by Queen Mary College of London. The identical didn’t apply to boys.

The Queen Mary researchers hope their findings will elevate consciousness that weight problems could contribute to musculoskeletal issues in children.

Within the examine, printed at the moment in Archives of Illness in Childhood, researchers analyzed anonymized data on 120,000 youngsters, linking information from the Nationwide Youngster Measurement Programme with GP data. They discovered that ladies with weight problems have been 1.7 instances extra probably than these with a wholesome weight to have not less than one GP session for a musculoskeletal symptom or analysis.

Earlier analysis has indicated a hyperlink between musculoskeletal issues and weight problems in youngsters, however this examine is the primary to look at the affiliation inside a big, ethnically numerous inhabitants within the UK, with excessive ranges of childhood weight problems and deprivation.

Knee ache was the most typical symptom reported within the examine, adopted by again ache. The authors word that musculoskeletal problems on this context could also be brought on by extra weight inserting extra stress on the physique’s joints, however extra analysis is required to know why this leads to a rise in issues for women and never boys.

The Nationwide Youngster Measurement Programme is a Authorities initiative whereby youngsters of major faculty age in England are weighed and measured in school by health professionals. This system gathers information to know long-term developments in childhood weight problems and inform nationwide and native authority insurance policies.

Nicola Firman, Well being Knowledge Scientist at Queen Mary College of London, commented, “Our findings show the worth of linking and learning anonymized well being information—with out figuring out the id of any youngster, we have been in a position to produce necessary insights into the implications of weight problems for well being throughout childhood.

“We hope our findings will enhance consciousness of the importance of poor musculoskeletal well being, and drive extra analysis into understanding the hyperlink with childhood weight problems. Extra must be achieved at coverage stage to assist households to stop weight problems and probably scale back the danger of musculoskeletal ache.”

Victoria King, Director of Funding and Influence at Barts Charity, added, “…the REAL-HEALTH workforce at Queen Mary is utilizing anonymized well being information to realize insights and construct instruments which might be straight impacting well being outcomes regionally. We’re excited to see the outcomes of this first-of-its-kind examine from the workforce, displaying an affiliation between childhood obesity and musculoskeletal issues in a various UK inhabitants. Constructing a stronger proof base on the attainable causes of joint and muscle ache may result in coverage adjustments that can enhance the well being of kids in East London, in addition to nationally.”