Children Too Young For Gallstones? Not Anymore!

For months, nine-year-old Aanya was treated for gastritis. Her stomach pain came and went, often brushed off with antacids and diet advice. But nothing helped.

- SHISH SRIVASTAVA @ New Delhi

It was an ultrasound that later revealed the real cause—multiple gallstones. Doctors were surprised, but not entirely. Ananya had a high BMI and consumed fried food almost daily—factors increasingly linked to gallstone formation in children.

She underwent laparoscopic gallbladder removal. Surgeons found the organ contracted and chronically inflamed, suggesting the problem had been progressing for a while. Her recovery was smooth, but the case has raised red flags.

With childhood obesity on the rise, doctors are seeing adult-like lifestyle diseases in younger patients. Once considered a condition confined to adults, gallstones are increasingly being detected in children—a shift that experts warn is closely tied to growing rates of childhood obesity and poor dietary habits.

A study published in the National Library of Medicine in June 2024, which examined 44 children aged 5-18, found a predominance of cases in adolescents, nearly 30% of whom were overweight or obese.