Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: arely does a week pass without a new media report about childhood obesity.The problem has earned national attention, most recently with First Lady, Michelle Obama's Let's Move! program.Despite all the interest, solutions to the epidemic remain elusive, and effective and safe obesity prevention and treatment programs for children in general remain scarce. 1 Those that are available are typically small, expensive to run, and can at best accommodate a small proportion of the children in need.The widespread use of medications for the treatment of obesity in children is not on the horizon and surgery remains an option for only a small number of very obese adolescents.Changes in our built environment and in public policy are likely to be a major part of a successful solution.These could include, for example, encouraging more children to walk to school or changing the way some foods are marketed and sold to children.Such changes take a very long time to bring about and often face stiff resistance from industry or others.Waiting for a healthier environment is not an option.Today's children will be middle-aged adults by the time substantial environmental changes occur.There are practical settings in which treating and preventing childhood obesity can happen now, including schools, where children spend much of their time, and primary care practices, through which they regularly receive care.The latter setting has been the focus of my research.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), the American College of Clinical Endocrinology (ACCE), and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) have all issued guidelines and statements urging primary care physicians to identify childhood overweight and obesity and provide appropriate counseling.[2][3][4][5][6] This is all fine and well, but what exactly are physicians on the front line supposed to do?Primary care physicians are uncomfortable providing obesity-related counseling and frequently fail to do so.[7][8][9] In the process of educating primary care physicians, and writing my book, Child Obesity: A Parent's Guide to a Fit, Trim and Happy Child (Prometheus Books, 2006),
Source: Childhood Obesity
Author: Goutham Rao
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2017699877