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Tonsil Removal Possibly Linked to Weight Gain in Children
A new study suggests a link between weight gain and tonsil removal
Are tonsillectomies contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic? According to a research study published in this month’s issue of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, the answer may be yes.
Kids who have their tonsils removed appear to gain weight after surgery, leading them to become overweight compared to their peers with intact tonsils.
The research in the study spanned a 4-year period and close to 800 children were examined before their tonsil surgery and for up to 8 years afterward.
“We found a greater-than-expected weight gain in normal and overweight children after tonsillectomy,” said Dr. Anita Jeyakumar, who led the research team, to MSNBC.com.
In one analysis, the average body mass index of kids six months after surgery increased roughly 7 percent. But while most of the weight gain occurred within 12 months of the surgery, the researchers were not able to determine whether it tapered off after that.
The after-surgery weight gain coupled with the fact that tonsillectomies are the most common operation performed in childhood — more than 500,000 are done annually on children under 15 — left scientists wondering whether it’s a contributing factor to the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic.
One theory about why kids are gaining weight after the surgery is that with the enlarged tonsils, they’re spending more energy to breathe, so once they’re gone, they’re breathing easier and expending less energy.
Another possible explanation is when tonsils are infected and swallowing is painful, children may have less of a desire to eat.
I read studies like this and often scratch my head. If a kid needs his or her tonsils out, there’s not much that can be done, right? However, the theories on the weight gain both seem to make sense, so should the question really be how to retrain kids to eat and think about eating after their tonsillectomies? Is there a study on how effective that is?
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5 Comments
ceridwen commented on Feb 02 11 at 9:44 amMy daughter gained a lot of weight after her tonsillectomy at 18 months. She really needed it, too. 85% blockage of air passages. Her whole life up till then she sounded like Darth Vader- her chest compressed, she had to suck so hard to get air. She also didn’t eat much. This is one thing that made me pursue the specialists– my pediatrician had been too laid back it turned out. She wanted to nurse like a baby even at 1.5– I have a big milk supply so I was able to pull it off, but I knew there was something up with a 18 month old who wanted to basically live in a liquid diet! Eating clearly hurt. Also, her body was meant to be bigger given her frame. She was technically in the correct range for weight but I knew she should have been a rounder bigger girl like the other babies in our family– she’s very, very tall and was too skinny for her broad shoulders and height. Anyway, my one concern about all this is that maybe her metabolism was altered somewhat by what was essentially a “diet” from about 6-18 months. Maybe her body learned to cling to the calories? She ate pretty well and she certainly hasn’t BALLOONED in size. But maybe this study could be explained partly by a metabolism adjustment? Just a theory from a lay mom!
Meredith Carroll commented on Feb 02 11 at 1:44 pm@Ceridwen — Interesting theory. Thanks for sharing!
JJ commented on Feb 03 11 at 9:31 amI’m wondering if there is a correlation between the severity of the tonsil issues and the degree of wait gain?
Meredith Carroll commented on Feb 03 11 at 9:58 am@JJ — Good question.
Lauren commented on Mar 20 12 at 9:10 pmHmmm… a really interesting question. Two of my three children have had their tonsils removed and both (who were in the lower percentages for their weight) gained a pretty startling amount of weight in the first year post-surgery. There were no changes in their diet or the foods that they had always eated yet gained the weight rapidly. I hadn’t even thought about it being connected to the tonsillectomy until reading this.
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