IMPE Abstracts

Background: The assessment of childhood obesity involves the rational use of diagnostic tests in physiological causes while not missing pathologies. We have developed an obesity interpreter, a mobile application that provides individualized guidance regarding the workup of children and adolescents.

Aim: To develop and validate a mobile application to evaluate children and adolescents with obesity.

Methods: The application was developed (n=430) and validated (n=430) on obese children and adolescents (aged 2-18 years) presenting to our Pediatric Endocrinology clinic. Clinical parameters (age, height SDS, BMI SDS, development, facies, vision, and pubertal development) of physiological and pathological causes of obesity were compared to identify predictors of etiology. The significant parameters in the development arm were incorporated into the mobile application platform and guided the likely diagnosis and assessment algorithmically. The application guidance was validated against expert opinion.

Results: Predictors for the pathological cause of obesity (other than hypothyroidism) included early age of presentation, lower height SDS, dysmorphic features, developmental delay, and vision defect. Height SDS was, however, not discriminatory between hypothyroidism and exogenous obesity. Date of birth, height, weight, age, development, and vision was thus used in the application algorithm. The diagnostic guidance provided by the application was concordant with the clinical diagnosis of the 430 obese children and adolescents in the validation arm (386 nutritional, 31 endocrine, nine genetic, and syndromic etiology).

Conclusions: Our mobile application obesity interpreter provides a validated point of care, simplistic, and evidence-based evaluation of childhood and adolescent obesity.