Impact of Adolescent Gender Dysphoria on Treatment Uptake in an Obesity Management Program

Megan Cooney; Miriam Kaufman; Catherine Birken; Elizabeth Dettmer; Alene Toulany

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.05.028

Impact of Adolescent Gender Dysphoria on Treatment Uptake in an Obesity Management Program

J Pediatr. 2016 Sep:176:207-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.05.028. Epub 2016 Jun 6.

Authors

Megan Cooney¹, Miriam Kaufman², Catherine Birken³, Elizabeth Dettmer⁴, Alene Toulany²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: megan.cooney@sickkids.ca.
² Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
³ University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Division of Pediatric Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.

PMID: 27283460
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.05.028

Abstract

A 13-year-old biological female patient presented with gender dysphoria while receiving treatment for obesity. Body distress and a desired masculine phenotype motivated his engagement with various therapies. We describe body image concerns in an obese adolescent with gender dysphoria to highlight the importance of assessing gender in adolescents.

Keywords: body image; gender dysphoria; gender identity; obesity.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Body Image / psychology
Female
Gender Dysphoria / complications*
Humans
Pediatric Obesity / complications*
Pediatric Obesity / therapy*