for the first time in 15 years, urging both doctors and policy makers to take action in combating childhood obesity, which affects 14.4 million children — roughly 20% of kids — in the U.S. Untreated, childhood obesity can lead to both short- and long-term medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, and depression.
Previously, parents of children with obesity, along with their pediatricians, were advised to use “watchful waiting,” or closely monitoring a patient's condition but not going forward with treatment unless symptoms change or appear. Now, the AAP recommends safe and evidence-based treatments for childhood obesity.
The AAP’s new guidelines promote a much more holistic approach to combating childhood obesity, which includes “motivational interviewing, intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment, pharmacotherapy and metabolic and bariatric surgery,” and “considers the child’s health status, family system, community context, and resources.”
“What are the psychological effects from being bullied or teased? Or weight stigma? What are the mood affects? How this is going to affect how they're functioning in their daily life? What context do they live in? And how easy or hard is it to grapple with this, depending on their social determinants of health? Are your investment community? And how can we help your family?” Dr. Hassink explains.
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