In light of the ever-increasing prevalence of obesity in children, a task force formed by the Endocrine Society—an organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology—has issued new clinical practice guidelines to help clinicians focus on prevention and early intervention in children—a strategy they hope will also help stem the rising tide of obesity in adults.
“In kids 6 to 11 years old, obesity has increased 4-fold since 1970, and childhood obesity is a good predictor of adult obesity,” said Gilbert August, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, DC. August was chair of the task force that developed the guidelines on pediatric obesity (available at http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/rapidpdf/jc.2007-2458v1). The document offers specific criteria for defining overweight and obesity in children and outlines strategies for averting and treating these conditions.