Background. Obesity studies are often performed on population data. We sought to examine the incidence of obesity and its associated comorbidities in a single freestanding children’s hospital. Methods. We performed a retrospective analysis of all visits to Boston Children’s Hospital from 2000 to 2012. This was conducted to determine the incidence of obesity, morbid obesity, and associated comorbidities. Each comorbidity was modeled independently. Incidence rate ratios were calculated, as well as odds ratios. Results. A retrospective review of 3,185,658 person-years in nonobese, 26,404 person-years in obese, and 25,819 person-years in the morbidly obese was conducted. Annual rates of all major comorbidities were increased in all patients, as well as in our obese and morbidly obese counterparts. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) and odds ratios (OR) were also significantly increased across all conditions for both our obese and morbidly obese patients. Conclusions. These data illustrate the substantial increases in obesity and associated comorbid conditions. Study limitations include (1) single institution data, (2) retrospective design, and (3) administrative undercoding. Future treatment options need to address these threats to longevity and quality of life. 1. Introduction The increased prevalence of overweight and obese children is not new, yet it has been viewed more recently as a public health epidemic [1–3]. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 12.5 million, or 17%, of American children are obese. More recent studies show that over 10% of 2–5-year-olds would be classified as overweight, whereas this number increases to 15% in the adolescent age group [4]. Interestingly, in 2000 the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) did not find enough evidence to recommend for or against routine screening for overweight status in either children or adolescents as a means of mitigating further health sequelae, yet now the task force is revisiting this idea as of 2010 [5]. It is known that a higher prevalence of comorbid diseases attributable to obesity is seen in both adults and children, especially modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and sequelae. In the long-standing Bogalusa Heart study, body mass indexes (BMI) performed in childhood and adolescence, as a measurement for obesity, predicted intima-media thickness in adults [6]. Obesity is not only related to modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, but also to several other health-related conditions that may persist or worsen in adulthood [7, 8]. This includes
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