Treatment of Pediatric Obesity /

The main goal of therapy in childhood obesity should be to achieve lifelong weight control. Therefore, it is important to assess the child and the family in order to plan an appropriate therapeutic approach. It is essential to know the child’s pattern of growth and weight gain (Vol. 1; Chap. 1). Children who are gaining excess weight and present upward crossing of percentiles require a more intensive therapeutic strategy than those who are overweight, but are maintaining a pattern of weight progression and follow the same percentile, as they grow older. In general, any treatment plan for children with obesity should aim to induce decreased energy intake and increased energy expenditure, while maintaining normal growth. Intervention to induce weight loss must consider all the factors believed to play a role in the obesity of a particular child.