There's often a difference between what's popular in practice and what's supported by scientific research. These gaps in evidence can leave some clinicians wondering what screenings and treatments are truly effective.
As a pediatrician, I know primary care providers worry that so many of their young patients are overweight. But I also know that many clinicians don't document being “overweight” as a medical symptom nor do they attempt to treat it. The question is: Should clinicians be calculating a body mass index, or BMI, for every child?
The truth is that research has not told us whether screening children for being overweight or obese correctly identifies the particular children who are at risk for future health issues. Worse yet, we don't yet know which treatments best help those who have been identified as being overweight or obese.[1]
That's why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the leading independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care, found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against routinely screening children and adolescents for obesity or overweight in primary care settings.[1] Simply put, there's not enough high-quality research to show that routine overweight screenings lead to better health outcomes for general pediatric patient populations.
But childhood and adolescent obesity is an issue we can't ignore. You certainly should address obesity in your pediatric patients. But whether or not you screen children and how you handle it should be a decision you make with your patients and their families.
Listen to parents' concerns about their children's weight. Clinicians have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to collaborate with patients and families to decide how to address health issues like these.
That's my opinion. I'm Dr. Virginia Moyer of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Footnotes
Reader Comments on: Children and Obesity – Should Every Child Be Screened? See reader comments on this article and provide your own.
Readers are encouraged to respond to the author at moyer@bcm.edu or to George Lundberg, MD, Editor in Chief of The Medscape Journal of Medicine, for the editor's eyes only or for possible publication as an actual Letter in the Medscape Journal via email: glundberg@medscape.net
References
- 1.U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville, Md: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Screening and Interventions for Overweight in Children and Adolescents: Recommendation Statement. AHRQ Publication No. 05-0574-A, July 2005. Available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf05/choverwt/choverrs.htm Accessed April 11, 2008. [Google Scholar]
