Dr. Wendy Pomerantz, an emergency room physician at the hospital, analyzed records of 23,000 ER visits by children between 2005 and 2008. Obese children were more likely to suffer lower body injuries, the most common being sprained ankles and legs.
"Other injuries that the patients experienced were fractures and lacerations," Dr. 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 non-obese children."
Obesity usually increases the time it takes to recover from an injury because the added weight and stress can cause more damage.
Dr. Pomerantz presented her findings at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies.
Labels: causes of childhood obesity, injuries
Posted By: Aspen Education Group
