Overweight and Obesity in Children Under Phenylalanine Restricted Diet

Introduction: The aim of this study is to determine the obesity and overweight frequency in children with phenylketonuria (PKU) and hyperphenylalaninaemia (HPA). Methods: From the patients' demographic data, diagnosis, type of diet, weight for height, body mass index, serum phenylalanine concentrations were obtained and recorded. Results: Four hundred and forty charts were evaluated and 288 of them were enrolled in the study. Two hundred and forty-six (85.4%) were under phenylalanine-restricted diet with protein support. Of those, 23 (9.3%) were obese and 16 (6.5%) were overweight. When we compared the obesity ratio of 246 patients with PKU and HPA to the obesity ratio in the Turkish population, the difference was statistically significant (p=0.025). Conclusion: The frequency of obesity was higher in PKU and HPA children who underwent phenylalanine-restricted diet treatment than in the normal population in Turkey. Detailed studies are needed to increase the understanding of the obesity risk factors in this special disorder group