Which is a genetic disorder associated with obesity in children?

• A. Cushing's disease
• B. Prader-Willi syndrome
• C. Pheochromocytoma
• D. Type 1 diabetes

Answer: (B)

Prader-Willi syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by dysfunction in appetite regulation that leads to obesity in children. It results from issues with genes on chromosome 15, usually a paternal deletion or maternal uniparental disomy, which causes lifelong insatiable hunger starting in early childhood. This hyperphagia, combined with reduced energy expenditure, makes obesity a defining and persistent feature of the condition. Management typically involves strict environmental controls around food, multidisciplinary care, and often growth hormone therapy to improve growth, body composition, and metabolism.

Other listed conditions do not fit as classic genetic obesity syndromes in children. Cushing’s disease involves excess cortisol and can cause weight gain, but it’s an endocrine disorder rather than a genetic obesity syndrome and lacks the characteristic early-life hyperphagia and developmental features. Pheochromocytoma is a rare adrenal tumor with variable weight changes, not a common genetic cause of obesity in kids. Type 1 diabetes is autoimmune and typically presents with weight loss rather than obesity.