Obesity in children not properly diagnosed

Cleveland, United States, January 1: Studies led by researchers at The Metro Health System and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland have indicated that one third of American children are overweight, but sadly majority were undiagnosed for obesity by pediatricians.

Reviewing the electronic medical records (EMR) of around 60,000 kids, it was discovered that a large percent of obese children are not properly diagnosed. Despite clarifications of the appropriate body mass indexdefine (BMI) only 10 percent of children between 2-18 years were properly diagnosed.

The study analyzed the figures from the years 1999-2007. They discovered that 19 percent of the kids were overweight, 23 percent were obese and 8 percent severely obese. A total of 76 percent of the severely obese children and 54 percent obese were diagnosed but of these, only 10 percent were properly diagnosed.

Dr David Kaelber, leader of the study and a pediatrician in Cleveland, said "Better identification of this group of children who have just crossed into the ''unhealthy'' weight category is essential for early intervention which will hopefully prevent not only a childhood of increased health problems, but also what now often becomes an ongoing battle through adulthood with life-long issues."

Dr Kaelber stated that while physicians were trying to identify the problem, the issue was not being dealt with in a manner to prevent it from going out of hand. "I know that if I can figure out that a child is just overweight I can recommend things that are likely to be successful in helping with that mild weight problem. If a child isn't diagnosed until they're obese, then their problem is much more severe so it's much more difficult to implement the interventions that we need to affect the weight problem."

In spite of media exposure and campaigns highlighting weight problems among children, the issue has been neglected and sidelined. Researchers feel that timely detection of obesity could be beneficial for kids in the long run.

They emphasized the need for greater publicity regarding the problem as there was no evidence of increased diagnosis despite adding an abnormal BMI Flag in the EMR system from 2004-2007.

Dr Kaelber said that "While early and accurate diagnosis of pediatric weight issues is an essential first step in identifying the problem, we must also look at possible solutions. For example, as the role of EMR grows, new methods such as automatic electronic alerts being sent to pediatricians and parents about a child's weight status and automatic referrals to special pediatric weight-management programs are some innovative ideas in using technology to help improve our children's health."

The researchers recommend annual visits to health care professionals to measure BMI to determine weight status. Without intervention many overweight children will grow up to be obese adults. Recognition and discussion of the issue are the necessary first steps to developing healthier lifelong behavior.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics.