Avoid weight-based language, use motivational interviewing techniques, and promote healthy family-based lifestyle modifications to prevent and manage obesity without predisposing adolescents to eating disorders, according to new recommendations in an American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report.
Obesity and eating disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent in adolescents. In 2012, 20.5% of 12- to 19-year-olds met sex-specific body mass index (BMI) criteria for obesity, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey. From 1999 to 2006, there was a 119% increase in hospitalizations due to eating disorders among children younger than 12 years, according to a 2011 study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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Most adolescents who develop eating disorders are not obese, lead coauthor Neville H. Golden, MD, of Stanford (Calif.) University and his associates noted in the report by the AAP Committee on Nutrition, the Committee on Adolescence, and the Section on Obesity (Pediatrics. 2016 Aug. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-1649).
However, in some adolescents, obesity prevention or management and initial attempts to lose weight can spiral into the development of an eating disorder, they said. “In one study in adolescents seeking treatment of an [eating disorder], 36.7% had a previous weight greater than the 85th percentile for age and sex.”
Cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies identified dieting, body dissatisfaction, and talking about or teasing a child about his or her weight as risk factors for obesity and eating disorders. Conversely, family meals have been associated with improved dietary quality and a reduction in eating disorders among adolescent girls.
As pediatricians are often the first professional consulted by a parent when eating disorders or obesity are a concern, the investigators recommended the following office-based, evidence-informed tools to provide guidance about obesity and eating disorders:
• Discourage dieting, skipping of meals, or the use of diet pills.
• Encourage healthy eating and physical activity.
• Promote a positive body image; do not focus on body dissatisfaction as a reason for dieting.
• Encourage family meals.
• Encourage families not to talk about weight, but rather to talk about healthy eating and being active to stay healthy.
• Inquire about a history of mistreatment or bullying in overweight and obese teenagers and address this issue with patients and their families.
• Monitor weight loss in adolescents who need to lose weight.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supported this clinical report. The authors had no relevant disclosures to report.
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