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Updated: May 21, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
[Study EXPO 2010: Overweight and Obesity in Childwood]
Diana L Martins1, Ana Isabel Branco, J Luís Fernandes
1Departamento de Medicina Geral e Familiar, Unidade de Saúde Familiar, Nova Via, ACES Espinho/Gaia, Gaia, Portugal.
Insights
Childhood overweight and obesity are rising, with concerningly low quality in health records for diagnosis and treatment. Improvements are needed to address this growing public health issue effectively.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Informatics
Context:
- Childhood overweight and obesity prevalence is increasing significantly.
- This trend poses risks for severe co-morbidities in children.
- Early detection and management are crucial, especially during health exams.
Purpose:
- To assess the technical and scientific quality of health records related to childhood overweight and obesity.
- To evaluate the registration of diagnoses, diagnostic tests, and therapeutic counseling.
- To identify areas for improvement in managing pediatric weight issues.
Summary:
- A retrospective study evaluated 118 children (ages 5-13) with overweight/obesity.
- Quality of records for diagnosis, testing, and counseling was largely "Unsatisfactory," particularly in younger children.
- Teenagers showed better, though still incomplete, results in some criteria.
Impact:
- Highlights deficiencies in clinical documentation and management of pediatric obesity.
- Underscores the need for enhanced clinical guidelines and professional training.
- Informs targeted interventions to improve care quality for overweight and obese children.
Introduction:
During the last decades, overweight and obesity in childwood have been suffering a significant rise. National data point towards a total prevalence up to 30% between 7 and 9 years of age. The tendency is worsening, especially in the lower socioeconomic status. The mentioned weight changes expose children to a higher risk of severe co-morbidities, justifying this way the need for early detection and orientation of the problem, particularly in the ages focused in Global Health Exams.
Objectives:
Ensure technical and scientific quality of the following records: overweight and obesity records in problems list, minimum diagnosis tests request and therapeutic counseling.
Methodology:
Dimension: technical and scientific quality of the records. Unit of study: children watched in health unit of authors, born from 01/01 to 31/12 2002 (inc) and 01/01 to 31/12 1995 (inc), with at least one medical surveillance carried out, respectively, to 5 or 6 years and at 11, 12 or 13 years, with BMI = 85th percentile; Evaluated Professionals: all family doctors; Time period evaluated: 2006-2009, inc. Data Type: clinical data.
Data Sources:
SINUS ® and SAM ® version 9.2.
Evaluation:
internal. Criteria for groups with overweight and Obesity, respectively: I and II) Registration in problems list, III and IV) Registration of minimum diagnosis tests request, V and VI) Registration of therapeutic counseling.
Data Collection:
May 2010.
Evaluation:
Retrospective.
Sample:
institutional basis, not random. Type of Intervention: Educational and structural.
Results:
There were included 118 children with weight changes (prevalence of 15.2% for overweight and 10,1% for obesity). In 5-6 years-old children, all the criteria were "Unsatisfactory" (the best result was the record of therapeutic plan on overweight but still only 26,2%). Regarding to teenagers, the results were "Good" for Criterion III, "Satisfactory" for the IV and VI and "Unsatisfactory" for all the others.
Discussion:
Devaluation of overweight and obesity as a health risk to child, diagnostic errors, Child and Youth Health Program limitations, lack of national clinical guidelines, eviction of traumatic procedures, registration failure and follow-up in Pediatrician or Nutritionist are factors that may justify the results. The re-evaluation will be realized after the application of the planned corrective measures.
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