Childhood Obesity: New Canadian guidelines have been released

Obesity Canada publishes the latest guidelines for managing obesity in children and adolescents.

Previous guidelines for managing adult obesity, published almost 20 years ago, added limited information about children. This is the first time a guideline has been developed specifically for children and adolescents.

The new document highlights behavioral and psychological interventions as cornerstones of care and includes opinions from children and their families regarding their values ​​and preferences.

Guidelines It has been published Online on April 14th cmij.

I need support from my family

Childhood obesity is a chronic, condemned progressive disease that can damage the health and well-being of a child and his family. In Canada, approximately one in four people under the age of 11 and one in three people aged 12 to 17 have an elevated body mass index (BMI), suggesting that they are overweight or obese. Worldwide, the prevalence of childhood obesity has tripled over the past 30 years.

The new guidelines include 10 recommendations. Of these, five focus on behavioral and psychological interventions, three focus on pharmacological interventions, and two focus on surgical interventions.

“The previous guidelines were a combination of adult and pediatric guidelines, and to be honest, pediatrics was like an add-on. So, when it was time to do the second guidelines, the Vice-Chair and Vice-Chair (Research) of the Association of Couser Jeffball, PhD, PhD, Vice-Chair (Research) Medscape Medical News.

It was also the first time that parents were involved in drafting the guidelines. “This time, we involved parents from the start, from establishing research questions to supporting research reviews of what we did to draft guidelines,” Ball said. “We recruited a group of parents and staff from the healthcare provider because caregivers were involved from the start. [to talk] What outcomes are important to them? ”

Much surprisingly, Ball pointed out that health-related quality of life issues, anxiety and other mental health issues are on the list of things that are important to patients and their families.

“You might think that your waist circumference, body fat and weight are everything, but when you ask your family or your healthcare provider what outcomes are important, you hear things like health-related quality of life, anxiety, depression, and adverse events, which were their highest priorities.

Sanjie F Sockaringham, M.D., Science Director of Obesity Canada, agreed that the behavioral components of the new guidelines are important. “Historically, people have focused on weight loss as a major goal and BMI. We really wanted to change that focus for children and young people to help children and young people think comprehensively about health outcomes, including quality of life and mental health. Sockalingam did not help drafting the guidelines.

Another guideline in the guidelines is their suggestion that pharmacological interventions may be considered in older children if everything else fails.

“Drugs may be a viable option for those over the age of 12. Not alone, but in combination with behavioral interventions. However, many of these children should not wait unnecessary to grow up to become adults living with obesity.

“Unfortunately, Canada is a bit late in identifying obesity as a chronic disease. Rancet commission“Guideline co-author Julie St. Pierre, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the Obesity Fellowship Program at McGill University in Montreal; Medscape Medical News.

Only Alberta in all states recognizes obesity as a chronic disease, Saint Pierre said. “We need to catch up. No matter where you are in Canada, we need financial support as most of our multidisciplinary clinics are out of our pockets and are out of our pockets to apply these guidelines. We don't currently support them by the government.

The guidelines were financially supported by the Alberta Health Services Chair of Obesity Research, awarded to Obesity Canada and Ball. Ball reported on the economic relationship between the Alberta Health Services Chair of Obesity Research, the Canadian Institute of Health, Women and Children's Health Research, Novo Nordisk Canada, and Obesity Canada. St-Pierre reported on its economic relationship with Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk Canada. Sockalingam does not report any related financial relationships.