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August 19, 2026Obesity PillarsOpen Access

Differences in body composition and physical activity in youth with obesity who report pain

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Authors

VVVeronica VabishchevichWSWebb SmithMHMegan E. Holmes

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Overview

Cross-sectional analysis finds higher pain severity links to greater body fat and reduced physical activity in youth with obesity, highlighting the need for pain-informed exercise interventions.

Key Points

  • To examine how caregiver-reported pain severity relates to body composition and physical activity participation in youth with obesity.
  • Assessed anthropometrics, body composition, and weekly physical activity frequency (days with ≥60 minutes of activity) in youth aged 8–20 years with obesity at a healthy lifestyle clinic (N=687; mean age 12.4 ± 3.4 years; 67.8% African American/Black; 62.6% female).
  • Categorized youth by caregiver-reported pain severity while walking on a flat surface into no pain, mild pain, or moderate-to-extreme pain groups.
  • In the sample, 76.5% reported no pain, 11.9% reported mild pain, and 11.6% reported moderate-to-extreme pain.
  • Higher pain severity was significantly associated with greater body fat percentage (p=0.002) and higher fat mass (p=0.04) compared to mild or no pain.
  • Physical activity participation differed significantly across the three pain groups (p=0.009), with greater pain severity corresponding to lower activity levels.

Cite This Study

Vabishchevich et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8563d703308d306e2d745bhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.obpill.2026.100322
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