New Guideline Aims to Transform Obesity Care for Children and Adolescents
First Canadian update in nearly 20 years prioritizes improvements in health and quality of life over weight loss outcomes
EDMONTON, Alberta, April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Healthcare providers and families have a new roadmap to support collaborative, fully-informed, evidence-based care for children and adolescents living with obesity, thanks to a new clinical practice guideline published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The guideline was developed by Obesity Canada through an extensive, four year-long participatory process involving those with lived obesity experience, methodologists, pediatric caregivers, healthcare providers and more than 50 multidisciplinary experts. In all, the authors list 10 clinical recommendations and nine good practice statements that emphasize:
- The value of a family-centered care model involving shared decision-making between healthcare providers, children and adolescents, and parents/caregivers;
- Reframing obesity management based on health outcomes most valued by families, such as improvements in quality of life, mental health (anxiety, depression), cardiovascular risk factors and avoidance or reduction of adverse events – while also summarizing but not prioritizing personal appearance goals such as weight loss and BMI-focused outcomes;
- The recommendations prioritize behavioural/psychological support, particularly multicomponent interventions that include physical activity, nutrition and psychological support, supplemented when needed and appropriate by medications and surgery; and,
- Balancing potential benefits and harms when selecting therapies is critical, as well as considering their availability, accessibility, and affordability.
Obesity is a complex, chronic, progressive, and highly stigmatized disease that increases risk for more than 200 health conditions. In Canada, approximately 25% of four- to 11-year-olds and 33% of 12- to 17-year-olds have an elevated BMI that may indicate overweight or obesity. While Canadian statistics are lacking, severe obesity appears to be on the rise globally according to recent international data.
Over 50% of seven- to 11-year-olds with obesity will continue to live with it during adolescence, and roughly 80% of 12- to 18-year-olds will carry the disease into adulthood, noted Obesity Canada Executive Director Lisa Schaffer.
“We know the time to act on pediatric obesity is now – waiting until children and adolescents become adults before providing meaningful, informed, evidence-based care and support only heightens the risk for developing complications and prolongs the experience of living with a stigmatized chronic disease, which can worsen further physical and mental health outcomes,” Schaffer said.
Systematic reviews of behavioral/psychological, pharmacological, and surgical interventions, as well as value and preference studies in children, adolescents, and their caregivers, were previously published by the guideline team.
“These, along with extensive stakeholder consultations, which included adolescents and caregivers with lived obesity experience as a part of the steering committee and guideline panel, were used to inform the recommendations,” said Dr. Geoff Ball, professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta and co-chair of the panel.
The new guideline will be foundational to Obesity Canada’s efforts to improve access to evidence-based care for children, adolescents and their families, dovetailing with landmark adult obesity guidelines published in 2020.
“With only two surgical centres, a patchwork of multidisciplinary obesity management clinics, and widespread lack of equitable and affordable access to treatments in Canada, we know families currently have very few practical options,” explained Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam, scientific director of Obesity Canada and professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
“The guideline authors have given us a solid, transparent and interpretable foundation on which we can begin to advocate and educate toward establishing a new standard of obesity care for children and adolescents – they have a right to evidence-based care to improve their health and wellbeing.”
Links:
Managing Pediatric Obesity: A Clinical Practice Guideline (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
About Obesity Canada:
Obesity Canada-Obésité Canada is Canada’s authoritative voice on evidence-based approaches for obesity prevention, treatment, and policy. Our mission is to improve the lives of Canadians affected by obesity through the advancement of anti-discrimination, prevention, and treatment efforts. www.obesitycanada.ca
CONTACT: For more information or to arrange interviews: media@obesitycanada.ca
