Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Health-Related Quality of Life in Overweight/Obese Children Compared With Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Amy L Faus1, Renee M Turchi2, Marcia Polansky2
1Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA amy.l.faus@rutgers.edu.
Insights
Pediatric patients with overweight/obesity experience health-related quality of life (HRQOL) impairments comparable to those with inflammatory bowel disease. Overweight/obesity significantly impacts social functioning in children, underscoring the need for comprehensive care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Quality of Life Research
- Chronic Disease Management
Background:
- Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a critical measure of well-being in pediatric populations.
- Overweight/obesity and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are significant chronic conditions affecting children.
- Understanding the comparative impact of these conditions on HRQOL is essential for effective healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the HRQOL of pediatric patients diagnosed with overweight/obesity against those with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
- To identify specific domains of HRQOL that are differentially affected by overweight/obesity versus IBD in children.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the PedsQL 4.0 HRQOL survey to assess patient and parent/guardian-proxy reported outcomes.
- Employed unpaired t tests and analyses of variance to compare HRQOL scores between the overweight/obese and IBD cohorts.
- Analyzed differences in social functioning and overall HRQOL scores between the two groups.
Main Results:
- Pediatric patients with overweight/obesity exhibited HRQOL scores as diminished as those of patients with IBD.
- Parent/guardian-proxy reports indicated statistically significant lower social functioning scores in the overweight/obese group compared to the IBD group.
- Parents/guardians reported significantly lower overall HRQOL for overweight/obese children than the patients themselves did.
Conclusions:
- Childhood overweight/obesity is associated with HRQOL impairments equivalent in severity to those seen in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.
- Proxy-reported data highlight that overweight/obesity disproportionately affects social functioning in children.
- Healthcare providers must acknowledge the psychosocial impact of obesity and integrate holistic care strategies to address its severity.
Purpose:
This study examined the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of pediatric patients with overweight/obesity compared with that of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Methods:
Differences between disease groups in their PedsQL 4.0 HRQOL survey scores were analyzed using unpaired t tests and analyses of variance.
Results:
Scores of patients with overweight/obesity were as low as scores of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Parent/guardian-proxy social functioning scores of the overweight/obese group were statistically significantly lower than scores of the inflammatory bowel disease group, and the parents/guardians reported significantly lower HRQOL scores than the patients.
Conclusions:
Overweight/obese children have HRQOL scores as impaired as those of children with inflammatory bowel disease. According to proxy-reported scores, overweight/obesity is associated with lower social functioning. Thus, it is important for health care providers to recognize obesity's relationship to patients' psychosocial health and provide holistic care that addresses the severity of this disease.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Crohn's Disease
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by...
01:17Chronic Bowel Disorders: Introduction
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract. The distinctive feature is recurrent abdominal pain associated with altered bowel movements, manifesting as constipation, diarrhea, or fluctuating between both. The...
01:27Inflammatory Bowel Disease I: Ulcerative Colitis
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, encompasses a group of disorders characterized by chronic inflammation or ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract.
Risk Factors
The exact cause of IBD remains unclear, although it is believed to be due to a mix of genetic, environmental, microbial, and immune factors. Genetic factors are significant in determining susceptibility to IBD, with family history being a critical risk factor. Individuals with a first-degree relative who has IBD are at...
01:26Inflammatory Bowel Disease I: Introduction