An Overview of National Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Childhood Obesity in Primary Care

Study Design: Review of clinical guidelines.

Background: Most national clinical guidelines for the management of childhood obesity in primary care were published since 2003. It is unknown whether there is international consensus concerning the diagnosis and management of childhood obesity.

Objective: To present an overview of available guidelines for the management of childhood obesity in primary care

Methods: Guidelines were included if they met the following criteria: (1) the guideline makes recommendations concerning the management of childhood obesity, (2) the target group consists of primary care health practitioners, (3) the guideline is available in English or Dutch.

Results: Clinical guidelines from six different countries published from 2003 until 2010 met the selection criteria and were included in this review. The recommendations of the guidelines regarding the management of childhood obesity appeared to be quite similar. A consistent feature was the recommended combined intervention, with diet, physical activity and counselling being the three most important elements. There were discrepancies between the guidelines for recommendations regarding diagnostic classification criteria for childhood obesity.

Conclusion: The present review shows that there is international consensus regarding the recommendations for management of childhood obesity. There is less international consensus regarding the diagnostic classification of childhood obesity.