1.Assessment of overweight and obesity among children diagnosed with bone fractures
Amarbat S ; ; Uuganbayar Ch ; Enkhmurun B ; Khaliun A ; Naranbat L ; Saranchimeg E
Mongolian Journal of Health Sciences 2026;97(7):223-226
Background:
Childhood overweight and obesity are important public health concerns. Assessing weight status among children presenting with fractures may provide preliminary data for further investigation of a possible association between body weight and injury.
Aim:
To estimate the proportion of overweight and obesity among children aged under 18 years diagnosed with fractures and compare weight-status categories by sex.
Materials and Methods:
This descriptive study included 30 children presenting with a fracture to the outpatient clinic of Mongolia–Japan Hospital between June and September 2026. Weight status was classified using age- and sex-adjusted BMI-for-age. We summarized continuous variables as mean±standard deviation, median, quartiles, and minimum–maximum values; we reported categorical variables as counts and percentages. The Mann–Whitney U test and Fisher’s exact test were used, with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results:
Of the 30 children, 20 (66.7%) were boys and 10 (33.3%) were girls. Eighteen children (60.0%) were classified as overweight/obese. Mean BMI was 20.58±3.44 kg/m² and median BMI was 19.82 kg/m². Mean BMI was higher in the overweight/obesity group than in the normal-weight group (22.00±3.55 vs 18.46±1.90 kg/m²; p=0.0092). Sex was not statistically associated with weight-status category (p=1.000).
Conclusion
The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children under 18 years of age diagnosed with bone fractures was 60.0%. The body mass index (BMI) was statistically significantly higher in children with overweight and obesity than in those with normal weight. Sex was not statistically associated with excess body weight. Further studies with larger sample sizes, a control group, and bone mineral density measurements are needed to determine the relationship between excess body weight, bone health, and fracture risk in children with bone fractures.
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