Research Article: Lifestyle and Pharmacological Interventions and Treatment Indications for the Management of Obesity in Children and Adolescents
Abstract:
Obesity is a multifactorial chronic impairment that further decreases quality of life and life expectancy. Worldwide, childhood obesity has become a pandemic health issue causing several comorbidities that frequently present already in childhood, including cardiovascular (hypertension, dyslipidemia), metabolic (Type 2 diabetes mellitus, fatty liver disease, metabolic syndrome), respiratory, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal disorders. In addition, obese children frequently experience stress and psychosocial symptoms, including mood disorders, anxiety, prejudice and low self-esteem. Given that cardiovascular risk factors and pediatric obesity have the tendency to pertain into adulthood, obesity management, including weight control and physical activity, should start before the late teens and certainly before the first signs of atherosclerosis can be detected. This review aims to concisely present options for childhood obesity management, including lifestyle modification strategies and pharmacological treatment, as well as the respective treatment indications for the general practitioner.
Introduction:
During the last decades, the prevalence and the severity of childhood obesity has been rising dramatically worldwide. Presently, according to epidemiological data, the prevalence of overweight/obesity in the age group under 5 years is 40 million children, while the relative prevalence for the age group between 5 and 19 years is over 340 million children [1]. Overall, it has been estimated that in the 5–19 age group the prevalence of obesity has increased from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016 [2]. However,…
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