Back Pain and Spinal Abnormalities May Present Itself In Young Overweight Children

Sadly, a multitude of parents in the nation can't say NO to their children when it comes to eating food or making healthy eating choices. Even more unfortunate is that becoming overweight as a young child may lead to early spinal column degeneration and deterioration according to a new study from Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). In effect, this new study shows that we as parents are setting our children up for back discomfort over the course of time when they become an adult.

Close to 200 young adults and children from age 12 to 20 who stated they suffer from back pain were studied. Without doubt, young adults and children were not permitted to participate in the study who had suffered from conditions or illnesses that would pre-dispose them to back pain as well as injury from an accident to the back. According to statistics that there is a interconnection between vertabrae disc abnormalities and an increased body mass index (BMI) in young adults and children.

Not to mention, the study illustrates that over 50% of the young adults and children studied had some abnormality in the lower back region or lumbar area of the spine. Regrettably, most of those spinal column disc abnormalities come about in the discs on the vertabrae. If you don’t know a spinal cord disc disease comes about when a swelling or ruptured disc, which are the gelatinous cushions in between the bones of the spinal cord put compression on nerves which creates back pain and most likely tingling sensations.

According to the information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 percent of children (ages 6 - 11) and 18 percent young adults (ages 12 -19) are overweight in our society. You heard me, that’s 33 percent or one in three of OUR young adults and children. In general, young adults and childen above the 85th percentile are usually considered to be overweight or at risk of being so.

Body Mass Index or BMI is a ratio of body weight and height which is a widely used as a measurement for obesity. Definitely, a lower BMI has a interconnection with being underweight or a healthy body size. Not to mention, a higher BMI score has a connection with being overweight.

In conclusion, the outcome of this study shows there is a strong connection between increased BMI in yound adults and children with lower back pain increased abnormalities of the spine for those with higher BMI.

According to the information from the study, this could be a high sign of a serious health problems given the expense of back pain in our society.

Now that we know we are part of the problem as parents… The question is what are we going to do about it? We definitely need to make some changes as parents so our children don’t suffer as adults.