Chronic constipation in overweight children.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Childhood Obesity
• Behavioral Pediatrics

Background:

• Obesity and functional constipation share a common biopsychosocial model.
• Chronic constipation significantly impacts overweight children's quality of life.
• The association between childhood obesity and constipation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the proportion of overweight children in a chronic constipation group versus a control group.
• To identify clinical characteristics of overweight children with chronic constipation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 101 children (5-18 years) with functional constipation.
• Control group comprised 100 children from general practice with normal bowel habits.
• Overweight classification based on body mass index (BMI) >85th percentile (NIH 2000 chart).

Main Results:

• 44% of children with constipation were overweight, compared to 30% in the control group (p < .05).
• Overweight children with constipation were more likely male (70.45% vs 47.36%), had more psychological/behavioral problems (45.45% vs 22.8%), and were more likely to fail treatment (40.9% vs 21.05%).
• No significant differences were found in constipation duration, sex ratio, painful defecation, soiling, or defecation frequency.

Conclusions:

• A significant association exists between chronic constipation and being overweight in children.
• Overweight children with chronic constipation represent a distinct clinical group.
• This distinct group exhibits male predominance, increased psychological/behavioral issues, and poorer treatment outcomes.