Rianne Ruitenburg: 'At the Máxima Center we help 30 to 40 children a year who have to deal with hypothalame weight gain due to a brain tumor near the hypothalamus, such as a low-grade glioma or craniopharyngioma. As a result, the child receives fewer signals of satiety. Often the resting metabolism is lowered. In practice this means that a child has an urge to eat and burns fewer calories. This often leads to overweight and obesity. A difficult combination for child and parents, because what is the best thing to eat? Your child's urge to eat, how do you deal with it as parents?’
Outpatient Clinic
Every Tuesday there is a special consultation for children with hypothalamic obesity. They are treated in a multidisciplinary setting, with a referral from an endocrinologist. An exercise physiologist measures resting metabolism. In some children this is as much as 40% lower than expected. The physiotherapist carries out an exercise test and exams the child's capabilities. And the dietitian gives nutritional advice, preferably as soon as possible after diagnosis: ‘We aim to intervene quickly to prevent from a weight gain. This has better results than in a phase of serious obesity.’ Jannet Dekker: 'We always start from the Guidelines for good nutrition, based on the age of the child. But with hypothalamic obesity, energy-restricted and especially low-carbohydrate foods are important. So: be moderate with the amount of bread, pasta, rice or potatoes. Preferably no sweets, cookies or soft drinks, no sweet spreads or desserts. Lots of vegetables. Fruit, but preferably no bananas or grapes.’
