The patterns of weight gain, body mass index and appetite changes in children therapeutically managed for functional constipation

Constipation is one of the most common gastroenterological disorders worldwide, especially in developing countries. The knowledge toward the influences of constipation on weight-gain and normal growth is inadequate among families and pediatricians. In present study, we aimed to assess weigh-gain pattern in children with constipation during six months of routine therapy.

In this analytical study, our population constituted all the children with age of 1-15 years old admitted to the Gastroenterology section of Children Hospital of Zahedan city during 2015-2017. The constipation diagnosis was based on less than three defecations per week persisting for at least one month. Demographic and growth parameters including height, weight, and BMI, and appetite were recorded for each subject following three months of routine treatment.

The mean age of patients under study was 5.67 ± 3.03 years old, and the mean of height was 108.47 ± 19.18 cm. The mean weight and BMI of the children were significantly higher at three months following treatment compared to baseline, however, there was no significant change in neither weight nor BMI regarding individual genders. Appetite improvement was recorded in 60 (57.1%) and 77 (73.3%) of the children at one and three months after treatment, respectively.

Therapeutic intervention in children with constipation can effectively improve weight-gain their pattern and appetite.