A Reader Responds to “Children and Obesity – Should Every Child Be Screened?”

To the Editor:

The associations between childhood obesity and physical and mental illness are well established. We are finding increasing evidence of pediatric pathology. For instance, obesity is directly linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease – the most common cause of pediatric liver disease.[1] Children who are obese suffer from a myriad of psychosocial sequelae, from stigmatization to major depressive disorder.[2] In addition, obese children have increased left ventricular heart mass.[3] In other words, we are observing material changes in the child's body as a result of obesity. Yet the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force still fails to recommend routine screening in primary care settings.[4]

I call for screening for childhood obesity. Because we are generally poor in differentiating the weight status of children by observation,[5] we should measure the child's body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and perhaps other clinical criteria/indices for weight status.

If we do not battle this national epidemic in the young, then we shall continue draining our medical resources in treating the middle-aged.