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Abstract
Childhood
obesity has emerged as one
of the most significant public
health challenges over the
past few decades. It has widespread
consequences for an individual’s
physical and psychological
health, both in the short
and long term. With multifactorial
causative influences linked
to an obesogenic environment,
childhood obesity continues
to increase worldwide, despite
clinical and public health
efforts. The public health
burden is challenging and
requires a wider collaborative
framework to effectively deliver
child and family centered
care.
Primary
care providers, through frequent
and early contact opportunities,
are uniquely positioned to
identify and engage those
identified as being at risk
of or suffering from childhood
obesity. Proactive screening
using relevant parameters
such as BMI, early interventions
with sensitive counselling,
and individualized goal setting
of nutritional and physical
activity target behaviors
can help significantly reduce
the long-term individual and
public health burden of the
epidemic. There is a need
for primary care providers
to continue to recognize and
rise to this challenge. This
will involve physicians overcoming
biases and upskilling their
knowledge, motivational counselling
and communication skills while
providing goalsetting aimed
at adopting healthy behaviors
in the child and their families.
Keywords:
childhood obesity, primary
care, interventions, management
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