A team from Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, reported at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America that overweight and obese adolescents who came in to the emergency department for severe back pain had a high incidence of lumbar disc herniation.

"We saw increased spine abnormalities with higher BMI. These results demonstrate a strong relationship between increased BMI in the pediatric population and the incidence of lumbar disc disease," Dr. Judah G. Burns, a fellow in diagnostic neuroradiology, and the studies author. (BMI = body mass index).

"Disc herniation and spinal disease are generally thought of as a problem of older people, but we're seeing it in obese youngsters, too. This is the first study to show an association between increased body mass index and disc abnormalities in children." he continued.

The team examined lumbar spine MRIs of 188 children ages 12 to 20 who had complained of back pain. The MRIs revealed that 52% of the children had some lumbar spine abnormalities.