The Need for Early Referral: Characteristics of Children and Adolescents Who Are Overweight and Obese Attending a Multidisciplinary Weight Management Service.

Jacqueline Walker,Robyn Littlewood,Sandra Capra,Rebecca Malley

doi:10.3390/children4110093

Abstract

There is a need to examine the issue of childhood obesity from a systems perspective. This study aimed to describe the baseline characteristics of children attending pediatric multidisciplinary weight management services and understand how this information will inform future service delivery. A total of 51 children and adolescents who were overweight and obese (27 male) and aged between two and 16 years participated. Body size measures such as body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage were collected. Participants and their parents/guardians also completed questionnaires on dietary intake, behaviors and habits, physical activity and health-related quality of life. A total of 72% of participants were classified as morbidly obese. Adolescents had significantly lower scores for overall diet, physical activity and particular health-related quality of life scores. No significant correlations were found between BMI z-scores and diet, physical activity and health-related quality of life. In adolescents, correlations were detected between dietary scores and health-related quality of life. Results confirm the need to critically examine the current context to adapt and tailor interventions to individual circumstances, and when combined with focused referral, triaging and screening processes, should assist in delivering the right care at the right time.

Highlights

There is a clear need to understand the issue of childhood obesity from a systems perspective.Overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence remains a critically important health care issue, both in Australia and internationally [1,2]
Data collection occurred between June 2016 and June 2017 at two clinic locations: Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital (LCCH), a large central service and at a satellite site, The University of Queensland (UQ) Ipswich Nutrition and Dietetics practice (IPSWICH), both situated in Queensland, Australia
Results regarding Health-related Quality of Life (HRQOL) showed that parent proxy-reported social HRQOL was significantly lower for adolescents when compared to young children (MD = 23.70, 95% CI = 2.30–45.08)

Summary

Introduction

There is a clear need to understand the issue of childhood obesity from a systems perspective. Overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence remains a critically important health care issue, both in Australia and internationally [1,2]. One in four Australian children aged five to 17 years (27.4%) are classified as overweight or obese [1], which is similar to the average rate for the countries that form the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), at approximately 23% [4]. While there appears to be no change in the proportion of children who were overweight or obese since 2011–2012 [1], the associated health risks remain considerable. Pediatric overweight and obesity can significantly affect

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Discussion

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