Obese Children More Likely to get Multiple Sclerosis

Obesity can put children and teens at higher risks of a nervous system disease known as multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study says.

MS affects the brain and spinal cord by damaging the myelin sheath, a substance that guards nerve cells. This affects the normal communication between the brain and the body. 

Persons with the disease experience vision-related problems, muscle weakness, coordination and balancing difficulties, feelings of numbness or prickling and poor memory/ thinking process.

For the study, researchers analyzed 75 children and youngsters with MS, aged between two and 18.  Body mass index (BMI) of the participants prior to the disease was collected and recorded.

At the end of the analysis, researchers found MS cases high among heavy children (50.6 percent) than children with normal weight (36.6 percent). The risks were found higher among girls than boys.

"Over the last 30 years, childhood obesity has tripled,"  study author Dr. Annette Langer-Gould from the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation in Pasadena and a member of the American Academy of Neurology said in a news release. "In our study, the risk of pediatric MS was highest among moderately and extremely obese teenage girls, suggesting that the rate of pediatric MS cases is likely to increase as the childhood obesity epidemic continues."

Concerned with the findings, researchers urge parents and caretakers to seek medical help when they notice symptoms associated with the disease.

"Even though pediatric MS remains rare, our study suggests that parents or caregivers of obese teenagers should pay attention to symptoms such as tingling and numbness or limb weakness, and bring them to a doctor's attention," Langer-Gould said.

The study has been published online in Neurology.

The findings come at a time when nearly 12.5 million young children and teens are affected by obesity problems in the United States. According to CDC, obese children are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases like high blood pressure and cholesterol, prediabetes, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems like stigmatization and poor self-esteem.