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The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its recommendation for treating childhood obesity for the first time in 15 years.
Under the new guidelines, doctors are, for the first time ever, recommending the use of anti-obesity medications and surgery to treat children who are overweight. In addition, the new guidelines offer other treatment options such as "motivational interviewing, intensive health behavior, and lifestyle treatment."
"We now have evidence that obesity therapy is effective. There is treatment, and now is the time to recognize that obesity is a chronic disease and should be addressed as we address other chronic diseases," said Dr. Sandra Hassink, medical director of the AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight and co-author of the new guidelines.
The AAP said that 14.4 million children and teens are considered obese, which is defined as a body mass index above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex. Obesity can cause both short and long-term medical issues, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Over the past 15 years, the rate of childhood obesity has increased from 17% to 20%. Since the 1980s, obesity rates have tripled in children and quadrupled in adolescents.
"The medical costs of obesity on children, families, and our society as a whole are well-documented and require urgent action," said Dr. Sarah Hampl, a lead author of the guidelines. "This is a complex issue, but there are multiple ways we can take steps to intervene now and help children and teens build the foundation for a long, healthy life."