Obese kids with lower body pain have restricted physical, social skills

By Piriya Mahendra, medwireNews Reporter

Obese children with lower extremity pain have reduced physical functioning and psychosocial health, researchers report.

Sharon Bout-Tabaku (Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA) and colleagues found that children with a body mass index (BMI) equal to and above the 95th percentile who experienced pain of the feet, ankles, knees, and hips scored worse on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Scales (PedsQL) for physical function and psychosocial health than those without lower extremity pain.

"Our findings support the importance of investigating lower extremity pain as part of the evaluation and management of obese children," say Bout-Tabaku et al. "Lower extremity pain may play a role in reduced compliance with weight management programs, exercise regimes, or physical activity recommendations for obese children."

Obese children with lower extremity pain had a mean score of 72.4 on the physical function scale of the PedsQL, a measure of physical, emotional, social, and school functioning, compared with a mean score of 79.5 in obese children without lower extremity pain.

As reported in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, obese children with lower extremity pain also had a mean score of 70.0 on the psychosocial health scale of the PedsQL compared with a mean score of 75.8 in those without pain.

The researchers note that BMI-Z scores were negatively correlated with PedsQL physical function score, PedsQL psychosocial score, and physical fitness or PACER score, a measure of how fast the children ran 20 m with audible cues.

"The negative association indicates that as BMI-Z scores increase, there is a decline in the PedsQL-Physical Function, PedsQL-Psychosocial Health, and PACER score," explain the authors.

"Physical function and psychosocial health may be adversely impacted by lower extremity pain in obese children who are not physically fit; and practitioners should take into account the child's limitations and consider targeted recommendations for physical activity regimens that account for and address lower extremity pain," Bout-Tabaku and team conclude.

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