Overweight kids on Drugs

Kids who are overweight may not get the same reaction medication as those who are normal weight. I am sure you can see how this could potentially be a problem in a number of situations. It's a scary thought. It's too bad so many families are dealing with obese children.

I heard an interview the other day about parents putting their kids on diets. It sounds so crazy to me because my kids won't eat. I have the hardest time getting them to sit down and eat anything. I am on the opposite end of the spectrum. Maybe that changes as kids get older. I don't know, but childhood obesity is a big problem.

FROM NBC: Children who are obese may process medicine differently than kids considered normal weight. Researchers at the Minnesota College of Pharmacy studied drug metabolism in twenty-five healthy weight and obese children, and found that overweight kids processed drugs at different rates.

This has implications for drug absorption, metabolism and elimination -- and shows some children may be getting too much, or too little, important medication. The researchers plan more studies to learn exactly how drugs are metabolized in obese children. they hope to develop new dosing regiments.

The study was funded by the NIH National Center for Research Resources.

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Because of the increase in obesity in the pediatric population, we need to know how being overweight or obese affects how drugs are metabolized in the system," Johnson said.

Johnson and a co-author looked at how both dextromethorphan (the active ingredient in over-the-counter Robitussin DM) and caffeine (delivered via a cola drink) were metabolized by 16 normal-weight and nine obese children, 6 to 10 years old. All of the children were black.

Specifically, the authors measured activity levels of two key enzymes involved in drug metabolism.

They found higher enzyme activity among the obese children who were given caffeine, but not among those who took dextromethorphan.

"This means that there is variability in enzyme activity, which has implications for furthering personalized medicine," said Johnson, who is an assistant professor of experimental and clinical pharmacology at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy. "We might need to take into account a child's physiological condition -- whether they're obese or non-obese -- when determining dosing."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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