Energy Intake of Morbidly Obese Children and Adolescents before Therapy Intervention

Introduction: Its not quite clear whether morbidly obese children and adolescents eat much more than non obese peers. Therefore we studied the nutrient and energy intake of morbidly obese adolescents before a therapeutic intervention. Patients and methods: Since 2000 23 morbidly obese children and adolescents (12 girls and 11 boys) were enrolled in the study (age circle divide 14,5 +/- 0,4 a, BMI circle divide 31,5 +/- 1,2, weight circle divide 80,6 +/- 4,5 kg). All patients had to write 7-day-food reports which reflect the current eating habits. The goal was to draw the patients attention what they really eat and drink. This should be reached by means of a weekly individual care, connected to a rearrangement of nutritional habits towards a diverse, low fat and carbohydrate rich diet. Results: Food diaries were analyzed for average nutrient content and total energy using the computer calculation programm PRODI (R). Average daily intake of the following dietarty components were calculated: protein, carbohydrate and fat. The evaluation of the 7-day-food reports shows an average daily energy intake of 3817 (+/- 361) kcal, an average daily fat intake of 51 ( +/- 9) %, an average daily protein intake of 14 (+/- 5) % and an average daily carbohydrate intake of 35 (+/- 14) %. Data showthat high soft drink consumption leads to excessive caloric intake. 82% of the adolescents consumed soft drinks and had an energy intake of 880 kcal per day. 77% of the patients ate fatty meat like 1 Wiener Schnitzel", 1 Kebap" and hamburgers every day and more than the half ate sweets like chocolate, cookies and cakes every second day. 55% reported at least three daily eating occasions with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Conclusions: Results show an excessive high energy intake mainly because of the high fat consumption of morbidly obese children and adolescents. Its necessary not only to keep the energy intake in mind but also the nutrient composition of the food. A multidisciplinary treatment and a current motivation is important to get usable food reports and to prevent an underreporting. More studies in obese children and adolescents are urgently needed before important dietary recommendations can be made.