Analysis of familial, somatic and psychic aspects in children with simple obesity.

The analyzed material included 60 children aged 5--16 years with the diagnosis of simple obesity. It was found that 30% of them, nearly all girls, had obese parents. This may suggest an increased tendency for familial occurence of obesity in girls. The birth weight of obese children was usually higher than that of children with normal body weight, and 36,6% of children began to show overweight before the age of 3 years. It was found that the index of slender body builds is much lower in obese children than in controls. The analysis demonstrated also that 28.9% of obese children were more or less retarded mentally which may be also a pathogenetic factor in obesity.