Ask the pediatrician: Medical group has guidelines for diagnosis, treatment of obesity in children [column] | Health
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently published guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pediatric obesity for ages 2-19 years. Initially, media outlets have seized on a very small part of the document that focuses on medication and surgery treatments for severe obesity. While these treatments for children certainly deserve consideration, there is so much more to these guidelines than that. The guidelines emphasize the complexity of pediatric obesity as a medical problem but also a socioeconomic, psychological, cultural and…