https://doi.org/10.1177/0003489420903336 Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology 1–7 © The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0003489420903336 journals.sagepub.com/home/aor Article Introduction Otitis media (OM) is a common pediatric infectious dis- ease. In a study from 2005, it was estimated that it affects over 700 million people worldwide each year, most of them are children. 1 In the same year, some 39.43 and 30.02 dis- ability-adjusted life years per 1 00 000 people were attrib- uted to OM in highly- and very highly-developed countries, respectively. 2 More than 80% of children would experience at least one acute otitis media (AOM) episode until their 3rd birthday, and 10% to 15% of them would develop persistent serous otitis media (SOM) or recurrent acute otitis media (rAOM) episodes. These conditions are associated with hearing loss, learning disabilities, the need for multiple antibiotic treat- ments, impaired linguistic development and a reduced qual- ity of life. 3-5 To date, the definitive treatment for rAOM and persistent SOM associated with hearing loss is ventilating tube insertion (VTI), 6 which is the most frequent surgical procedure performed in U.S. children, with 6 99 000 cases in 2010 alone. 7 Pediatric obesity is also a major public health concern. The overall prevalence of obesity among U.S. youth was 18.5% in 2015 to 2016; among school-aged children, 6 to 11 years of age, it was 18.4%, and among adolescents, 12 to 19 years of age, it was as high as 20.6%. 8 In many other industrialized and non-industrialized countries, pediatric obesity prevalence is also increasing. 9,10 Childhood 903336AOR XX X 10.1177/0003489420903336Annals of Otology, Rhinology & LaryngologyKlein et al research-article 2020 1 Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital, Ben Gurion University, Ashdod, Israel Corresponding Author: Tal Marom, MD, Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital, Ben Gurion University, 7 Ha’Refua Street, Ashdod, 7747629, Israel. Emails: talmaro@assuta.co.il; talmarom73@gmail.com Are Children Scheduled for Ventilation Tubes Insertion Overweight? A Cohort of Israeli Children Ayala Klein, MD 1 , Oded Kraus, MD 1 , Alisa Luria, MD 1 , Sharon Ovnat Tamir, MD 1 , and Tal Marom, MD 1 Abstract Objective: To study the hypothesis that children scheduled for ventilation tube insertion (VTI), a surrogate procedure reflecting otitis media (OM) presence, are overweight or obese. Patients and Methods: Charts of Israeli children aged 0 to 9 years undergoing VTI with or without adenoidectomy between 9/1/17 and 3/31/19 in a secondary level hospital were retrospectively identified. We compared their mean body mass index (BMI, kg/m 2 ) to the mean BMI of a control group comprised of children who underwent surgeries unrelated to OM (fracture fixation/reduction, inguinal/umbilical hernia repair, meatotomy, appendectomy). BMI measurements were plotted on gender- and age-matched curves to determine BMI percentile, and were also compared to the national pediatric overweight/obesity data. Normal weight was defined as BMI percentile <85%, overweight was BMI percentile between 85% and 97%, and obesity was BMI percentile >97%. Results: The VTI group included 83 children (mean age: 3.5 ± 1.8 years). The control group included 77 children (mean age: 6.3 ± 1.9 years). No statistically significant difference was found in the mean BMI values between both groups (P = .22). When compared to age- and gender-adjusted 50th BMI percentile of the general pediatric population, the mean BMI of the VTI group was significantly higher: for boys, 16.9 versus 15.2 (P < .01), and for girls, 16.6 versus 15.3 (P = .03), but not in the control group: P = .16 (boys) and P = .11 (girls). Conclusion: Children undergoing VTI were overweight when compared to their age- and gender-matched peers. This observation was more noticeable in boys. Keywords otitis media, pediatric obesity, overweight, ventilating tube insertion, body mass index