Obesity in children and adolescents

The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents is increasing. For those whose weight is greater than or equal to 120% IBW a thorough evaluation is needed to determine the etiology. The majority of children will have exogenous obesity and will not require extensive diagnostic testing. Complications of obesity occur in children and adolescents with psychosocial being one of the more severe. Treatment is necessary to prevent complications and the only treatment that has been shown to be successful is a multidisciplinary family approach with long-term follow-up. The once a day pill to treat obesity is far in the future.