Obesity Increases The Risk Of Fractures In Preschool Age

Obesity increases the risk of fractures in preschool age

Scientists have found that obesity and overweight are risk factors for fractures. They have put forward several theories about the causes of this problem.

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Obesity in preschool age can have a negative impact on health over the coming years. Scientists have found that being overweight greatly increases the risk of fractures in children. Their scientific work is published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Spanish scientists included in their study more than 450 thousand children aged four years, who underwent routine medical examinations. The weight and height of the children were known, which allowed the calculation of the body mass index of the participants. It turned out that 7.6% of them were obese or overweight.

Scientists observed children for 4-11 years. They found that overweight children broke their legs 42% more often and their arms 10% more often than children with normal weight. Obesity was associated with a 74% increase in the risk of arm fractures and 19% in legs.

Scientists acknowledge that there were some limitations to the study. For example, it was not known how much vitamin D children get or how physically active they are.

The authors suggest that the increased risk of fractures may be due to inflammation that develops as a result of obesity. Other risk factors for fractures in this study may have been excess weight and poor motor coordination.

“We often think about the consequences of obesity in old age. But even at the age of four, we already see its lasting influence. Fractures are not fatal, but they do affect quality of life,”Professor Daniel Prieto-Alhambra of the University of Oxford told The New York Times.