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Childhood Obesity

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Clinical Management of Overweight and Obesity

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Abstract

There is a high prevalence of obesity among children, which has shown a steady increase in recent decades, despite some recent signs of stabilization in many industrialized countries, including Italy. The obese child frequently presents metabolic and nonmetabolic risk factors, often manifesting overt morbidity for hypertension, dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance, eating disorders, among others, and a life expectancy lower than that of nonobese children. In addition, the onset of obesity in childhood tends to persist (40–80 % chance) into adulthood. These findings suggest the importance and urgency to identify precociously overweight and obesity in childhood, to treat overweight and its complications, and to implement preventive measures in the general population and especially in those at greatest risk.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The waist circumference/height ratio, with a cut-off ≥0.5, is a marker of cardiovascular risk even in children. There are no age- and sex-specific reference tables for the Italian population. There is currently no shared and accepted definition of metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents.

  2. 2.

    Recent data indicate that an efficient treatment plan means that time spent globally with a professional for at least one year should not be less than 25 h.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit of Pediatric Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders, University Hospital of Verona, Indian Society of Pediatrics, Verona, Italy

    Claudio Maffeis

  2. Unit of Auxology and Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, AORN Santobono-Pausilipon, Italian Society of Endocrinology and Pediatric Diabetology, Naples, Italy

    Maria Rosaria Licenziati

  3. Centre for Paediatric Dietetics and nutrition, Department of Paediatrics, “Sapienta” University, Italian Society of Pediatric Nutrition, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Vania

  4. Endocrine Unit, Villa Sofia-Cervello Hospital, Italian Society of Adolescent Medicine, Palermo, Italy

    Piernicola Garofalo

  5. Health Search Institute, Italian Pediatric Society – Prevention and Social, Florence, Italy

    Giuseppe Di Mauro

  6. Nutrition Unit, Department of Prevention, Italian Society of Obesity, Brindisi, Italy

    Margherita Caroli

  7. Bambin Gesù Children’s Hospital, Italian Association of Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition, Rome, Italy

    Giuseppe Morino

  8. Medical Genetics and Pediatric unit, Department of Pediatrics, AORN Santobono-Pausilipon, Cultural Association of Pediatricians, Naples, Italy

    Paolo Siani

  9. Community Pediatrician, Italian Federation of Pediatricians, Verona, Italy

    Giampietro Chiamenti

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Correspondence to Claudio Maffeis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Dept. of Systems Medicine,Medical School, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Sbraccia

  2. Department of Medical Biotechnology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Enzo Nisoli

  3. Center for the Study and the Integrated, University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Roberto Vettor

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Maffeis, C. et al. (2016). Childhood Obesity. In: Sbraccia, P., Nisoli, E., Vettor, R. (eds) Clinical Management of Overweight and Obesity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24532-4_10

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