| Summary: | Over 30% of children and youth in Canada are considered overweight or obese. Obesity is caused by long-term energy imbalances, whereby daily energy intake exceeds daily energy expenditure. Obesity if often defined by body mass index (BMI), calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m2). BMI varies in children and youth, thus values are typically compared to reference population charts to obtain a ranking of BMI percentile for age and sex. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), among adolescents, overweight is defined as one standard deviation above the mean BMI reference value for age and sex and obesity is defined as two standard deviations above the mean BMI reference value for age and sex. As most adolescents do not outgrow obesity, up to 70% of adults aged 40 will either be overweight or obese by 2040 if current trends continue. Both physical and emotional health consequences are more likely to develop in obese children and become increasingly apparent in adulthood as unhealthy weights are associated with increased risk of strokes and type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In 2008, the annual economic burden of obesity in Canada was estimated to be $4.6 billion. As Canada continues to face an obesity epidemic, effective prevention and management of childhood obesity is essential to ensure Canadian children and youth have healthy start in life. The objective of this review is to summarize recent clinical evidence of interventions for the prevention and management of childhood obesity
|
|---|