title: Overweight and obesity in PKU: The results from 8 centres in Europe and Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In PKU there is little data comparing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in different countries. The aim of this cross sectional study was to evaluate prevalence data from different PKU treatment centres in Europe and Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  In children, body mass index (BMI) and z scores and in adults BMI were calculated in 947 patients (783 children aged < 19 years; 164 adults aged ≥ 19 years) with PKU from centres in Europe and Turkey (Ankara, Birmingham, Brussels, Copenhagen, Groningen, Madrid, Munich and Porto).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In adults with PKU, 83% of centres (n = 5/6) had less overweight than the general populations but 83% (n = 5/6) had a higher rate of female obesity. In childhood, all centres reported obesity rates within or similar to local population ranges in boys but in 57% (n = 4/7) of centres a higher rate of obesity in girls. The percentage of overweight and obesity increased with age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In PKU, it is clear from a number of treatment centres that women and girls with PKU appear particularly vulnerable to excess weight gain and it is important that female weight gain is closely monitored and individual strategies introduced to prevent excess weight gain. Overall, in PKU there is a need to understand better the food patterns and activity levels of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gokmen Ozel
authors.affiliation: Center for PKU, The Kennedy Centre, Clinical Genetic Clinic under University Hospital, Glostrup, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahring
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Enfermedades Metabólicas, Servicio de Pediatría, Hospital Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bélanger-Quintana
authors.affiliation: Department of Metabolism and Nutrition, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dokoupil
authors.affiliation: San Paolo Hospital University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lammardo
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Metabolism Unit, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.affiliation: Centro de Genética Médica Doutor Jacinto de Magalhães, CHP EPE, Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Portugal; Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), Portugal.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Centro de Genética Médica Doutor Jacinto de Magalhães, CHP EPE, Porto, Portugal; Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto-UMIB/ICBAS/UP, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Section of Metabolic Diseases, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Rijn
authors.affiliation: The children's Hospital, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacDonald
keywords: Obesity; Overweight; Phenylketonuria