The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended in 2010 that health professionals continue using body mass index, or BMI, as an indicator of excess weight in children and adolescents 6 to 18 years of age. A child is at high risk for obesity if he has an obese parent or sibling, is from a low-income family or has limited mobility due to a disability or chronic disease. However, screening guidelines help health-care professionals identify children who need preventive services or intervention to reduce weight gain.
Obesity in Children
The number of obese children in the United States more than tripled since 1980. Obesity puts children at increased risk of developing serious medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease. Obese children are more likely than non-obese children to have psychological problems, such as low self-esteem and depression. Obesity is more common in children from ethnic and racial minority groups. Preventive screening performed regularly throughout a child's life helps parents and health-care professionals monitor children with high risk family histories and lifestyles.
Body Mass Index
The first step in obesity screening, according to Bright Futures, is to determine and interpret the child's BMI-for-age. In the United States, BMI for children is calculated using age-and gender-specific growth charts. Percentiles are used to group children with similar height and weight. The standards for normal weight, overweight and obesity are based on those percentiles: less than the 85th percentile is normal weight; more than the 85th percentile and less than the 95th percentile is overweight; and above the 95th percentile is obese.
Assessment
A child whose BMI-for-age defines him as overweight or obese undergoes further assessment to identify medical conditions, limitations to mobility, cultural distinctions and family lifestyle. Children over the age of 2 who are overweight based on BMI, undergo the next level of screening, which includes family history, blood pressure and fasting lipid profile. An increase in your child's BMI-for-age of two to three points over the last year indicates increased risk for obesity and related health problems.
Prevention
Prevention is the most successful method of intervention for excessive weight in children and adolescents, according to Bright Futures. Prevention programs target parents and children to promote lifestyle changes that help children achieve and maintain healthy weight. Prevention practices include encouraging healthy eating and regular physical activity. Prevention programs promote reductions in watching television and engaging in other sedentary behaviors. Obesity prevention also focuses on education, behavior modification and stressing the importance of parents as role models for healthy living. Childhood obesity prevention requires participation by communities, schools and health-care professionals.
Member Comments