Intensive Therapies for the Treatment of Pediatric Obesity

Abstract

For children and adolescents with abnormally high body adiposity, therapies for minimizing future weight gain and inducing weight loss may play important roles in the prevention and treatment of the comorbid conditions associated with obesity. While the initial approach to the management of obesity in children and adolescents should be moderate caloric restriction in combination with behavior modification, increased physical activity, and decreased time spent in sedentary behaviors (Barlow & Dietz, 1998; Speiser et al., 2005), these conservative measures are not always successful in producing long-term weight control (Epstein, Valoski, Wing, & McCurley, 1990, 1994). Therefore, more aggressive approaches—such as restriction of energy intake below 1000kcal/d, pharmacotherapy, and bariatric surgery—have been suggested as treatment options for severe pediatric obesity. In this chapter, we will review the limited available data for the safety and efficacy of these intensive therapies in children and adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)