"Even though some health conditions associated with extreme childhood obesity may not seem important early in life, they can be a significant burden for the patient and a link to other serious conditions later in life. We need to be aware of these links, search for obesity-related conditions and address childhood obesity as a family issue as early as possible," noted Dr. Koebnick.

Previous research into the association between obesity and GERD was hospital-based instead of population-based, included mainly people with asthma, and did not address extreme childhood obesity. In this study, the percentile of the measure of a child's weight in relation to height for age was calculated according to the 2000 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to assign a weight class (normal weight, overweight, moderate and extreme obesity). Children in the study had an average of 2.6 medical visits per year where height and weight were measured.

This study is part of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Children's Health Study, Kaiser Permanente's ongoing work to identify and treat childhood obesity through research and community programs. Results from the Children's Health Study published in the Journal of Pediatrics in March 2010, reported that extreme obesity is affecting more children at younger ages, with 12 percent of African American teenage girls, 11.2 percent of Hispanic teenage boys, 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls 2 - 19 years of age now classified as extremely obese.

Source: Kaiser Permanente