Musculoskeletal pain in obese compared with healthy-weight children

Objectives: To investigate whether obesity is associated with musculoskeletal pain in children.Materials and Methods: Obese (n = 107) and healthy-weight (n = 132) 10- to 13-year-old children (132 males, 107 females) participated in an observational case-control study. Children self-reported pain location (excluding abdominal pain), pain intensity (current and prior week), and pain prevalence (overall and lower limb) using the Pediatric Pain Questionnaire. Body composition was assessed (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and children wore an accelerometer for 8 days.Results: After adjustment for accelerometry (weekly average counts per hour) and socioeconomic status, obese children had more intense pain (worst pain, P = 0.006), pain in more locations (