Investigation of adolescents diagnosed with exogenous obesity in terms of Internet, smartphone usage characteristics and psychopathologies

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to investigate comorbid psychopathologies, internet/smartphone addiction and usage characteristics in adolescents diagnosed with exogenous obesity. Method: 48 obese patients aged 12-18 years, diagnosed with exogenous obesity, and 49 healthy adolescents without obesity were included in the study. Comorbid psychopathologies were screened with the "Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS)". Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS), Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Form (SAS-SF), Addiction Profile Index-Internet Form (API-IF) were administered to the patient and control groups; Atilla Turgay DSM-IV Based Child and Adolescent Distruptive Behaviour Disorders Rating Scale (ATS) was applied to their parents. Results: As a result of our study; In the case group, the presence of mental illness and obesity in the family, the duration of internet and smart phone use, snacking in front of the screen and spending time in virtual games were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05). In terms of the scales, it was determined that the YIAS, SAS-SF, API-IF and ATS scores were significantly higher in the case group (p<0.05). As a result of K-SADS, it was seen that adolescents with exogenous obesity had more psychiatric diagnoses when compared to the control group. Discussion: Our study shows that besides the biological aspect of obesity, it also progresses with a high rate of mental problems. Considering the difficulty of obesity treatment and the excess of complications, biopsychosocial interventions and multidisciplinary approaches including mental health professionals are important for the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity.