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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Obesity in children is associated with increased health care use

Elie Hering1, Irena Pritsker, Ludmila Gonchar

  • 1Pediatrics Department, Clalit General Health Care, Child Care Center, Tirat Hacarmel, 34349 Israel. ELIEZERHE@clalit.org.il

Clinical Pediatrics
|June 3, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Childhood obesity significantly increases healthcare utilization, including more clinic visits, hospitalizations, and medication use. These findings highlight the need for public health initiatives to combat rising pediatric obesity rates.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Health Services Research

Background:

  • Childhood obesity prevalence is rising globally.
  • Obesity in children is linked to increased morbidity.
  • Adult obesity is associated with higher healthcare use.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the impact of childhood obesity on healthcare utilization.
  • To compare healthcare use between obese and non-obese children across different age groups.

Main Methods:

  • A case-control study involving obese and non-obese children matched for age and gender.
  • Participants were from a child care center in Tirat HaCarmel, Israel.
  • Healthcare use was assessed over two years, measuring clinic visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and medication use.

Main Results:

  • Obese children had significantly more clinic visits (4942 vs 4058, P < .001).
  • Obese children experienced more hospitalizations (67 vs 34, P < .001) with longer durations (207 vs 79 days, P < .001).
  • Significantly higher medication use was observed in obese children (5945 vs 4638, P < .001).

Conclusions:

  • Childhood obesity is demonstrably associated with increased healthcare utilization.
  • Findings underscore the importance of investing in childhood obesity prevention strategies.
  • Results have implications for public health policy and health insurance planning.
Abstract

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