Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT415

Background: Obesity among adolescents has become a growing public health concern worldwide. This condition not only affects physical health but also significantly impacts emotional well-being and social development. Adolescents with obesity face numerous challenges, including the risk of comorbidities that persist into adulthood. Despite the widespread recognition of obesity as a major health issue, there is limited understanding of its unique clinical profile in this age group. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the clinical features of obesity in adolescents.

Methods: This was a retrospective and analytical study involving obese adolescents, followed at the Endocrinology Department of Sfax, Tunisia, for obesity management between 2019 and 2023. Obesity was defined based on the reference charts from the National Nutrition and Health Program: Grade 1 obesity: body mass index (BMI) between the curve corresponding to a BMI of 25 kg/m² at 18 years and the curve corresponding to a BMI of 30 kg/m² at 18 years. Grade 2 obesity: BMI above the curve corresponding to a BMI of 30 kg/m² at 18 years. A professional body composition analyzer was used to measure weight, fat mass, lean mass, and body water content.

Results: The study population consisted of 58 adolescents with a sex ratio of 0.49. The mean age of the patients was 15.4 ± 2 years. The average age of obesity onset was 8.4 ± 4 years. The most common triggering factors for obesity were dietary habit changes (44.8%) and puberty (34.5%). A progressive worsening of obesity was observed in 82.2% of cases, while 17.2% had a rapid progression. The adolescents had a mean BMI of 34.2 ± 6.2 kg/m², with no significant difference between genders (P = 0.169). Obesity distribution showed that 22.4% of adolescents had grade 1 obesity, while 77.6% had grade 2 obesity. Obesity appeared to be more severe among girls (P = 0.243). Waist circumference also showed no significant difference between genders (P = 0.832). Fat mass was significantly higher in girls (P = 0.021), whereas lean mass and water content were higher in boys (P = 0.013 and P = 0.012, respectively). The impact of obesity was gonadal in 15.5%, metabolic in 13.8%, respiratory in 8.6%, psychiatric in 6.9%, osteo-articular in 3.4%, and cardiovascular in 3.4%.

Conclusion: Understanding the clinical profile of obesity in adolescents is essential for developing targeted interventions to address this growing public health issue.