When Diet, Physical Activity, and Behavior Modification Aren't Enough

Pediatric Obesity is a national public health crisis. Our latest CDC data suggests that >20% of US adolescents have obesity.

• 8.5% of 12-19 year old are categorized as severely obese (BMI ≥120% of the 95th %) – representing approximately 4.5 million children

• Severe obesity is now known to be the fastest growing subcategory of obesity in adolescents

• Still, it is estimated that only a tiny faction undergoes medical or surgical interventions even after failure of diet, exercise and lifestyle modification programs.

• Few pediatricians are aware of the latest data showing the safety and efficacy of weight loss surgery in the pediatric population, now supported in position statements by the AAP as of 2019.

• This session is for pediatricians who feel defeated and overwhelmed by the burden of obesity and feel powerless to counsel their patients who fall into the categories of Class II and Class II obesity.

In this proposed platform session we would like to give an overview of our efforts in designing a toolkit for pediatric providers to discuss medical and surgical interventions for severe pediatric obesity with patients, parents, and families. Topics covered include:

- Brief updates on the latest data for medical and surgical treatments for severe obesity

- Updates on the epidemiology of Class II and Class III pediatric obesity, novel medical and surgical therapies that have become more common in the past 5 years

- How to break the ice: when diet, physical activity, and behavior change are not enough. How to discuss next steps with families.

- How to talk to patients without hurt feelings: framing obesity as a disease and not a moral failure

- How to refer to the MGHfC Pediatric Weight Center. Waiting times significantly reduced, especially for surgical candidates

- Future directions: collaborations with other pediatric obesity programs in the Harvard system and ongoing projects in the community and beyond