Overweight and Obesity in Childhood Flashcards
What is the definition of overweight?
Abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health
What does overweight and obesity result from?
Long term positive energy imbalance = energy intake exceeds energy output
What would ideally be measured to assess being overweight?
Body fat = use weight as proxy instead
Why is BMI useful?
Corrects body weight for height of individual = healthy range changes with age and is different for boys and girls
Why is growth in height not always a useful measure?
Not always matched by weight and girls have their growth spurt earlier than boys
How is BMI plotted for children aged from 2-18 years?
Plotted against age on centile chart appropriate for gender = shows expected distribution of BMI values for children of that age and gender
What are the population thresholds for overweight and obesity?
>= 85th centile is high risk for overweight >= 95th centile is high risk of obesity
What are the clinical thresholds for overweight and obesity?
> = 95th centile is overweight
>=98th centile is clinically obese
At what age is BMI used to assess if a child is overweight?
From age 2 = able to measure height accurately
How is overweight and obesity assessed in children younger than two years old?
Use BMI conversion chart to provide an approximate BMI centile
Why is weight circumference not routinely measured?
No evidence that it improves diagnosis of body fatness or cardiometabolic risk factors = should not be used to diagnose overweight and obesity
What are some risk factors for a child being overweight by three years old?
Parental overweight, black ethnicity, greater birthweight, smoking during pregnancy, lone motherhood, pre-pregnancy overweight, maternal employment >= 21hrs/week, solid foods before 4 months
What is protective against obesity?
Breastfeeding >= 4 months
How do babies with Prader-Willi syndrome present at birth?
Very floppy, absent or weak ability to suck, tube feeding common
What is hyperphagia?
Food seeking and lack of satiety after eating
How do children with Prader-Willi present?
Hyperphagia, reduced energy requirements due to low muscle tone, learning difficulties, hypogonadism, short stature
What are some symptoms and signs of Bardet-Biedl syndrome?
Visual impairment, renal abnormalities, polydactyly, learning difficulties, hypogonadism, obesity, hyperphagia
Is obesity seen as a child protection issue?
Yes = its seen as a form of neglect and children may be taken away from their parents if there is a risk to their health
What kind of approach has had the best effect of reducing BMI?
Combined dietary, physical activity and behavioural programmes are shown to significantly and clinically relevantly decrease BMI