[Prevention of weight excess and nutritional cares in obese children and adolescents].
Obesity is considered by World Health Organization (W.H.O.) as a worldwide epidemic disease having important psychosocial and physical effects. W.H.O. proposes to pay the same attention to prevention as well as to treatment of weight excess and obesity. Prevention should be applied as soon as weight gain raises too rapidly and as soon as Body Mass Index (BMI) is higher than P 97. The change of dietary habits, organisation of a healthy way of life and frequent follow-ups of weight and height evolution normalize very often the BMI. The recommended treatment for obesity in childhood and adolescence consists on a multidisciplinary approach including at first the medical doctor, than the dietician and if possible, a physiotherapist. Some patients need the intervention of the psychologist or pedopsychiatrist. Dietary intervention supposes a dietary anamnesis including dietary habits, scholarship, sleeping habits and physical activities. Nutritional education concerns the change of nutritional behaviour, information about qualitative and quantitative aspects of food requirements and must take into account the age, growth needs, habitual way of life and the necessity to apply the new way of life on a long term period. The nutritional and behavioural characteristics ensuring an optimal satiety must therefore be applied in order to facilitate the application of the nutritional recommendations. The studies concerning the treatment efficiency in childhood obesity concern a limited number of patients and for a relatively short period of time. In order to be efficient, parents and children need to feel non guilty and caregivers need to give the same attention to the young patients as they would to sick children.
Mozin
M J
MJ
Service de Diététique, Hôpital Universitaire des Enfants Reine Fabiola, Bruxelles.
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002669:Child Welfare; D004032:Diet; D004035:Diet Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010372:Pediatrics; D011570:Psychiatry