Gallstones & Obesity

The rise in numbers of children with gallstone problems might be attributed to a current epidemic they are having.

It looks like the current obesity epidemic might have an unexpected side effect -- more gallbladder problems in children.

Childhood obesity is currently at an epidemic level here in the U.S. As a matter of fact, according to the CDC, obesity in children has more than tripled over the last three decades alone. Unfortunately with higher obesity rates, we are also seeing more health problems with kids than we ever saw before. We've known for years that they are having problems with diseases like Type 2 Diabetes and high cholesterol levels... things that used to be seen only in adults. But researchers with Kaiser Permanente Southern California have also found a connection between the obesity problem and gallbladder issues in children.

Up until recently adults were more likely to develop gallstones, with women getting them more often than men. But now researchers have seen a sharp increase in gallbladder removal surgery in children and think obesity is a major cause.

They found that kids aged 10-19, extremely obese girls were 8 times more likely to develop gallbladder disease. For the heaviest boys, they were 3 times more likely. Experts are saying that this highlights another reason to get this obesity epidemic under control since not only will that excess weight affect children now, but can also cause issues throughout the remainder of their lives.