title: Adolescent obesity: current trends in identification and management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the prevalence, identification, and clinical manifestations of adolescent obesity for the advanced practice nurse in primary care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Selected research and clinical articles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescent obesity has been historically attributed to inappropriate diet and exercise; however, recent research also attributes adolescent obesity to genetic factors and metabolic dysfunction. If left untreated, adolescent obesity may result in the metabolic complications of dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and early onset of type 2 diabetes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Practitioners should focus on using the new body mass index (BMI) national guidelines for early identification of obesity. Essential to the management of this condition are education, parental involvement, behavior modification, and psychological support.
authors.affiliation: jakanethag@charter.net
authors.forename: M Anette
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hagarty
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bernaix
authors.forename: Jacquelyn M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Clement
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D010808:Physical Examination; D012016:Reference Values