Weight-Loss Treatment in Children Lowers Long-Term Health Risks: Study Finds - Video

When children with obesity undergo weight-loss treatment, the effects have repercussions later in life and the risk of serious health problems and premature death is lower as they reach young adulthood. However, this is not the case for depression and anxiety, a study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Pediatrics reports.

The study included over 6,700 individuals who had received treatment for obesity during childhood identified via the BORIS register (the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Register) and who were then followed up as young adults in the Swedish Patient Register, the Prescribed Drugs Register and the Cause of Death Register. A control group from the general population was also used, matched by age,

sex and place of residence.

The study shows that children and adolescents who respond well to obesity treatment are less likely to develop obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia (abnormally high levels of fat in the blood) as young adults.

The treatment studied involved support for children with obesity and their families designed to motivate healthy diets, exercise and sleep habits – what is known as “behavioural lifestyle therapy”.

However, the risk of depression and anxiety was not affected by the treatment outcomes in childhood, the paper shows. No matter the outcome of obesity treatment in childhood, the risk of anxiety and depression was unchanged in young adulthood.

Publication: ”Effect of Pediatric Obesity Treatment on Long-Term Health”, Resthie R. Putri, PhD; Pernilla Danielsson, PhD; Nils Ekström, PhD; Åsa Ericsson, PhLic; Louise Lindberg, PhD; Claude Marcus, PhD; Emilia Hagman, PhD. JAMA Pediatrics , online 21 januari 2025. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.5552