ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern, affecting over 100 million children worldwide, with an overall prevalence of 13%. A previous Omani study in 2012 suggested the prevalence of childhood obesity in Oman was 12.5%.

Objectives: This study aims to identify the prevalence of childhood obesity among children under the age of 13 yrs, who visited various pediatric outpatient clinics at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital at any time during 2021.

Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective study. Data were collected from the electronic medical records of pediatric patients. BMI SDS was calculated using Growth-XP software.

Results: 3000 patients were included, revealing an obesity prevalence of 9.5% (286 patients). Males had a higher obesity prevalence than females (10.4% vs. 8.5%). Secondary school students (10-13 years) had the highest prevalence (15.5%) among other age groups. The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (BMT) had the most number of children living with obesity (n=79/286), and this was thought to be due to their underlying conditions and severity of illness led to frequent hospital admissions, steroids use, and lower chances to exercise. Obesity class 3 (BMI SDS >3) was the most prevalent category among other types of obesity in our centre (42.31%). Only 36.6% of the total obese patients (104/286) were referred to dietitians, and/or pediatricians with an interest in obesity/pediatric endocrinologists. Almost half of class 3 obese patients were not referred to the appropriate obesity service as the focus was mainly on their primary illness.

Conclusion: The prevalence of childhood obesity in our center is lower than the overall reported prevalence of obesity of the whole population in Oman, which means either children live with obesity are either managed in the primary health care level or they are not recognized/diagnosed, hence not referred. BMT obese patients might benefit from dedicated weight loss programs and individualized exercise programs to be part of the treatment plan to reduce the chances of comorbidities secondary to obesity. Healthcare professionals to be made aware of childhood obesity as a disease, therefore identifying patients earlier on and referring them through the right channels as early intervention may reduce the risk of developing complications and that might also reduce the burden of the disease on the patient, and healthcare system.