Obese children more vulnerable to lower boby injuries

[amg]

BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhuanet) -- Obese children are more prone to lower body injuries than non-obese children, says a new study.

    The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study analyzed the weight and injuries of kids who visited the hospital's emergency department over a three-year period.

    "The most common lower body injuries were sprains," said Wendy Pomerantz, MD, emergency medicine physician and lead author of the study.

    Pomerantz said because obese patients have an increased body mass and force, they are more likely to twist or roll on a lower extremity and cause injury than the non-obese children. Other injuries that the patients experienced were fractures and lacerations."

    The study was presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Baltimore.

    Pomerantz noted that obesity is likely to also lengthen a child's recovery time from an injury, as the added weight and stress to the body can cause more damage.

    Exercise and diet, she said, remain the best ways to combat the growing obesity epidemic in the world. "Parents of an obese child who want the child to exercise but [are] afraid of the child getting injured should work with a specialist to get a tailored diet and exercise regimen to help them lose weight," Pomerantz said.

    (Agencies)