Obesity in patients with craniopharyngioma: assessment of food intake and movement counts indicating physical activity.
Patients with childhood-onset craniopharyngioma (CP) often suffer from obesity. We evaluated two important etiological factors of obesity development, energy intake and physical activity. Energy intake was supposed to be high due to a disturbed hypothalamic regulation of appetite. We used a validated nutritional diary to determine the 1-wk food intake in 27 CP patients (12 with intrasellar tumors and 15 with hypothalamic tumors) and 1027 controls who were a representative sample of the 7- to 16-yr-old German population. In 2 accelerometry settings, we determined movement counts indicating physical activity. Nineteen CP patients were comparable to 26 controls for age and body mass index. One setting was a clinical one during weight reduction; the other was an out-patient setting. Daily energy intake was 1916 +/- 677 kcal (mean +/- SD) in intrasellar CP patients, 2075 +/- 877 kcal in hypothalamic CP patients, and 2476 +/- 815 kcal in non-CP controls. Patients suffering from CP showed fewer movement registrations [clinical setting, 228 vs. 298 cpm for obese controls (P = 0.01); out-patient setting, 228 vs. 282 cpm for controls (P = 0.08)]. Differences were most pronounced during leisure time (382 cpm in CP patients vs. 546 cpm in obese controls; P = 0.002; clinical setting). Our findings suggest that reduced physical activity, rather than increased energy intake, in CP patients is responsible for the obesity development noted in these subjects.
Harz
Katia Juliane
KJ
Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany.
Müller
Hermann L
HL
Waldeck
Edith
E
Pudel
Volker
V
Roth
Christian
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000150:complications*; D015930:Diet Records; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009068:Movement; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins