Clinical and biochemical profile of obese and overweight children at a Tertiary Care Hospital.

Abstract

Objectives: Childhood and adolescent obesity is increasing especially in developing countries like Pakistan. It seem to affect most socio-economic classes as well as all ethnicities and geographies. We planned this study to analyze the clinical and biochemical profile of obese as well as overweight children at a tertiary care hospital for the existence of metabolic syndrome. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Department of Pediatrics Medicine, Children Hospital Chandka Medical College / Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana. Period: 1^st July 2018 to 31^st December 2018. Material & Methods: Children, aged 5 to 16 years, both gender, having BMI > 85^th percentile regarding age and gender were enrolled. Demographic characteristics along with history, lifestyle parameters and physical examination were noted for all the study participants. Metabolic syndrome (Met S) was evaluated while overall results were presented in terms of proportions, mean and standard deviations. Results: A total of 78 cases were enrolled during the study period. There were 46 (58.9%) male and 32 (41.1%) female, with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1. Mean age amongst study participants was 10.8 years. We had 56 (71.8%) children as overweight whereas 22 (28.2%) obese. Acanthosis nigricans was the most common entity seen in 55 (70.1%) children during clinical examination. Metabolic syndrome was found to be present in 31 (39.7%) participants. Conclusion: Met S is not only limited to obese children as it can also affect children who are overweight.