Photo Credit: Elena Bessonova

The following is a summary of “Association of Adolescents’ Body Mass Index Classification With Preventive Clinical Care Receipt,” published in the December 2023 issue of Pediatrics by Seetharaman, et al.

For a study, researchers sought to look into how different body mass index groups affect how teens are screened for and advised on risky habits that can be changed during well-visits. The National Institutes of Health’s NEXT Generation Health Study data from a group of 10th graders nationwide was used for retrospective studies. In wave 1 (2010), teens were put into four groups based on their body mass index: underweight (<4.99th percentile), normal-weight (5–84.99th percentile), overweight (85–94.99th percentile), or obese (≥95th percentile). 

These groups were based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definitions of these terms. In wave 2 (2011), teens were asked by their providers about their sexual activity, diet, exercise, smoking, drinking, and other drug use, as well as whether they had been told about the risks of these activities. The group was made up of 1,639 qualified people, with 57.8% being women, 63.3% being 16 years old, 47.8% being non-Hispanic White, 41.5% living in the South, 75.4% having health insurance, and 29.8% having low family income. 

Men who were overweight had 51% lower screening rates for smoking, 46% lower screening rates for alcohol use, 47% lower screening rates for other drug use, 57% lower screening rates for eating, and 47% lower screening rates for exercise.  Males who were overweight had 40% lower screening rates for other drug use than males who were average weight, and underweight males had 89% lower screening rates for alcohol use. Compared to women of normal weight, women who were overweight got 90% more advice on diet and 78% more advice on exercise.

Teenage males who were overweight said they were less likely to be checked for almost all types of preventive services, which means they missed chances to get care.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1054139X23003427