Obesity and blindness
May 29, 2012
OVERWEIGHT children have a
greater chance of having the
neurological disorder idiopathic
intracranial hypertension (IIH),
according to research by Kaiser
Permanente.
IIH is a rare condition which can
cause blindness in sufferers.
Published in the Journal of
Pediatrics the cross-sectional,
population-based study of 900,000
young people aged 2-19 years old
found 78 cases of pediatric
idiopathic intracranial
hypertension.
According to the findings, the
condition occurred most frequently
in overweight or obese, teenage
girls (85% of the children with IIH
were girls 11-19, and 73% were
overweight or obese).
Interestingly, the study also found
a strong association between the
condition and increasing weight class.
Extremely obese teens were 16
times more likely than normal
weight children to have IIH;
moderately obese children, six
times more likely; and overweight
children, 3.5 times more likely.
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