A study of over 6,700 pediatric patients demonstrated that effective pediatric obesity treatment may significantly reduce the risk of serious health complications and mortality in young adulthood, according to research.

In the nationwide prospective cohort study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, investigators found that pediatric patients who achieved obesity remission or good treatment response showed markedly lower risks of type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and premature mortality compared with those who had poor treatment response.

"This nationwide study provides compelling evidence that beneficial response to pediatric obesity treatment in a real-world setting can lower risk of cardiometabolic morbidities in young adulthood," wrote lead study author Resthie R. Putri, PhD, and her colleagues.

The investigators analyzed data from the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Register, including 6,713 patients aged 6 to 17 years who received obesity treatment between 1996 and 2019. Treatment effectiveness was categorized based on changes in body mass index (BMI) standard deviation scores into poor response, intermediate response, good response, and obesity remission groups.

Key findings showed that compared with poor treatment response, obesity remission was associated with:

• 84% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.07–0.35)
• 78% reduced risk of dyslipidemia (HR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.09–0.57)
• 60% reduced risk of hypertension (HR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.24–0.65).

Notably, pediatric patients achieving obesity remission or good response showed an 88% lower risk of mortality in young adulthood compared with those with poor response (HR = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.03–0.46).

"The mortality rates in individuals with obesity remission, a good treatment response, and an intermediate treatment response were similar to those of the general population between ages 18 to 30 years," the study authors noted. "This highlights the potential of normalizing the risk of premature mortality through effective pediatric obesity treatment," they added.

The study tracked outcomes from age 18 to 30 years, with a median treatment duration of 3 years. At treatment initiation, the median age was 12.1 years, and 56.3% of participants were male.

The investigators found that obesity treatment effectiveness was not associated with depression or anxiety risk in young adulthood, suggesting these conditions may require independent treatment approaches despite frequently co-occurring with obesity.

The study's strengths included its large sample size, prospective design, and comprehensive linkage to national health registers enabling long-term follow-up. However, the investigators acknowledged limitations including the potential underestimation of condition incidence, since the registers did not capture all primary care visits.

"For the first time, to our knowledge, this study presents a link between pediatric obesity treatment effectiveness and reduced mortality in young adulthood," the study authors concluded.

The findings carried significant implications for pediatric obesity treatment, suggesting that achieving substantial BMI reduction during childhood may have lasting protective effects on health outcomes, regardless of potential weight regain in young adulthood.

Full disclosures can be found in the study.