HHS HealthBeat (October 2, 2012)

Obese youths’ gallstones

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Young people should only rarely have gallstones. But doctors are treating more teens for the buildup of the hardened cholesterol-laden lumps in the gallbladder. And a researcher says the risk of gallstones was higher in obese young people.

At Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena, research scientist Corinna Koebnick looked at medical records of 766 10- to 19-year-olds with gallstones:

“Obese youths have a much higher risk – up to 8 times higher – than their normal-weight counterparts.”  

Koebnick says parents and kids should get together on eating right and being more active.

The study in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: October 2, 2012