06/21/07

American Dietetic Association Endorses Recommendations of Expert Committee on Children’s Weight

FOR RELEASE JUNE 21, 2007

Media contacts:  Jennifer Starkey, Tom Ryan     
800/877-1600, ext. 4802, 4894     
media@eatright.org      

CHICAGO – The American Dietetic Association has endorsed recommendations from an expert committee of health professionals that are designed to help physicians counsel overweight children.

The committee of representatives from 15 leading national health-care organizations was convened in 2005 by the American Medical Association, co-funded by in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

The committee’s purpose was “to offer practical guidance to clinicians by providing recommendations in all areas of obesity care.” According to the report, obesity among children rose from about 5 percent in the late 1960s to 17 percent in 2004.

Registered dietitian Susan H. Laramee, past-president of the American Dietetic Association, served as ADA’s representative on the committee. ADA’s Board of Directors endorsed the recommendations before they were publicly released in early June.

“This report provides valuable insights into the complexity of the obesity problem and provides very useful recommendations for physicians in terms of managing these problems,” Laramee said. “It encourages physicians and other health-care providers to begin early interventions and describes the types of healthful behaviors that should be promoted.”

The report recommends doctors encourage balanced and healthful eating and physical activity; conduct yearly weight assessments of children; and, as needed, conduct a “systematic intensification” of obesity treatments, ranging from less television viewing and eating more fruits and vegetables to medication and weight-control surgery. The report recommends involvement of a registered dietitian, especially in treating children with severe obesity and related health conditions like diabetes.

The expert panel recommends doctors begin using the term “overweight” to describe children with body mass indexes between the 85th and 95th percentiles, and “obese” to describe children at the 95th percentile and higher or with a BMI of 30 or above. The terminology replaces wording used since the recommendations of a previous AMA expert committee in 1998 that suggested describing children as “at risk” for being overweight or obese.

“For children’s long-term health, prevention is the key to addressing overweight and obesity,” Laramee said. “The new definitions more clearly and immediately communicate children’s weight status to their parents, and physicians, nurses and registered dietitians are encouraged to use the new terminology.”

With more than 67,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. To locate a registered dietitian in your area, visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.

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