Abstract

Obesity is becoming a common clinical headache for child health professionals, as the increase in professional and media concern has not been matched by effective clinical solutions. Added to this is considerable confusion about both the definitions of obesity and about which groups of children and adolescents actually require treatment. Little guidance exists for paediatricians and other child health specialists on the assessment and management of child and adolescent obesity. Guidelines produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are useful,¹ but require modification for non-American clinical practice. In the UK, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has recently issued excellent brief guidance on managing obesity in primary care,² as has the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.³