Sistema gastrointestinal y digestivo

Abstracto

Overweight-Obesity Prevalence in Children of North-West Italy: Efficacy of Counselling

Renata Colombo, Elisabetta Scurati-Manzoni, Domenico Careddu, Andrea Guala

Background: The increased incidence of obesity and overweight, among adults and children, is the most alarming “epidemic” of this decade. The Italian annual survey “Okkio alla Salute – Promozione della salute e della crescita sana dei bambini della scuola primaria”, showed, in 2009, that overweight and obesity affect 32.8% of Italian children. After considering these results, 16 family pediatricians of the province of Vercelli, from January 2010 on carried out a survey in order to assess pediatric obesity prevalence in their province. Methods: During children’s routine medical checks, age ranges 3-4, 5-6 and 8-9, anthropometric parameters were collected. From 2011 counselling about exercise, diet and healthy lifestyle was offered as well. Results: The graphs show that the drops in prevalence of obese and overweight patients, between 2010 and 2013, are statistically significant among age ranges 3-4 and 5-6 (especially among the 3-4 age group), but statistically not significant among the age range 8-9. Conclusions: Family pediatricians have the resources to prevent and treat overweight and obesity, involving the family and children in target interventions with effectiveness, as also published data evidence, and referring only most critical cases to second level nutrition advisory service. Yet, it is very important to start offering the parents counselling, since the first days of children’s life, as the older the children are, the more difficult it is for them to modify diet habits and lifestyle.