A recent study conducted by researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, indicates that children who are obese may have a more than doubled risk of being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in their early adulthood compared to their non-obese counterparts. The research analyzed data from the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Register, which included over 21,600 children with obesity and more than 100,000 children without obesity. This study, which is poised to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice in May, found that children with obesity had twice the likelihood of developing MS, with the average age of diagnosis being around 23 years old for both groups. This sheds light on the potential for obesity in childhood to increase susceptibility to early-onset MS.

The study, which tracked children for an average duration of six years, reported 28 diagnoses of MS among the obese children compared to 58 among the non-obese, confirming the significant link between childhood obesity and the risk of MS. The authors of the study, Associate Professors Emilia Hagman and Claude Marcus, attributed the increased risk to the chronic inflammation caused by obesity, suggesting that weight loss could serve as a mitigating factor by reducing inflammation and, consequently, the risk of developing MS.

This research underscores the importance of tackling childhood obesity not just for the immediate health benefits but also to potentially reduce the incidence of debilitating conditions such as MS in adulthood. With over 130,000 individuals currently living with MS in the UK, findings like these are deemed crucial by experts such as Dr. Clare Walton from the MS Society, as they offer insights into how obesity may impact the risk of MS and hence affect the future demographics of those living with the condition.