Beware Parents! Childhood Obesity Can Increase Risk of Hip Disease in Adolescence

Obesity has crept in most of the kids in the last few years and continues to increase in numbers. It has become one of the biggest concerns across the world. Parents may now have to take care of their kids' health and keep a check on their obesity. Recently, a study published in the journal of Archives of Disease in Childhood has stated that childhood obesity can increase the risk of hip diseases in adolescence. According to this study, Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE) is one of the most common hip diseases in adolescents.

SCFE is a hip condition in teens referring to fracture through the physis, resulting in slippage of the overlying end of the femur. There is an association between SCFE and obesity, but this might be explained by reduced activity levels following onset of symptoms. The study states that hip disorders may present atypically in children, which can lead to diagnostic delays. The condition requires surgery, can cause significant pain, and often leads to a hip replacement in adolescence or early adulthood.

The study was carried out by using BMI of children not more than 16 years of age, recorded in the notes at a point before the disease was diagnosed. This is how researchers were able to identify that obese children appear at highest risk of this condition.

Symptom of SCFE

Some of the symptoms of SCFE include limping, pan in the hips, stiffness, less movement than usual in the hip and outward turning leg among others. Children with SCFE experience a decrease in their range of motion and are often unable to complete hip flexion or fully rotate their hip inward. These symptoms may worsen with time leading to hip deformity.