Treatment for Adolescent Obesity
In the United States, the number of obese adolescents has steadily increased over the last decade and there is considerable controversy over the factors that contribute to the problem. Arguably, the contributing factors include heredity, race, ethnicity, family functioning, proximity of fast food restaurants, and state and regional dispositions. Despite numerous case studies into each factor, the number of obese adolescents continues to rise and there is no single treatment to eradicate the problem entirely.
In a study conducted this year concerning adolescent obesity, an assessment of health care personnel was performed, centered on positions, barriers, skill level and training needs in the management of adolescent …show more content…
Most early trials focused on diet and exercise counseling, behavioral modification and parental participation. These strategies have produced moderate weight loss, averaging 2-4 kg, yet most adolescents remained severely obese, with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 35 kg (Robinson, 1999; Johnson et al. 1997). In the last decade adolescent obesity treatment has shifted more towards behavioral treatment (BT), pharmacology and meal replacement products, which are aimed to reduce portion sizes and caloric intake. Berkowitz et al. (2003) selected at random group of 82 adolescents to participate in BT with either a placebo or Sibutramine, a medicine intended to create a feeling of satiety. Participants were instructed to consume only 1,300 calories a day and spend 120 minutes engaged in aerobic exercise. Results at months 3 and 6 indicated that participants treated by BT and Sibutramine, lost double the weight, then participants who were treated with BT and a placebo, 6.8 % vs 5.4 % BMI. (Sarwer & Dilks, …show more content…
One barrier is the lack of social interaction among extremely obese people. Another barrier is that most people treated with BT and medications regain weight. Unfortunately, there is limited information regarding the success and long-term weight management in obese adolescents. For these reasons and a variety of others, investigators have shifted focus onto Bariatric surgery to treat adolescents with extreme obesity. To receive a recommendation for Bariatric surgery, adolescents must be extremely obese, have unsuccessfully attempted widely known forms of treatment, and that modest treatment had a marginal effect on his or her, physical or psychosocial state (Whitaker et al. 1997). (Sarwer & Dilks,
In the United States, the number of obese adolescents has steadily increased over the last decade and there is considerable controversy over the factors that contribute to the problem. Arguably, the contributing factors include heredity, race, ethnicity, family functioning, proximity of fast food restaurants, and state and regional dispositions. Despite numerous case studies into each factor, the number of obese adolescents continues to rise and there is no single treatment to eradicate the problem entirely.
In a study conducted this year concerning adolescent obesity, an assessment of health care personnel was performed, centered on positions, barriers, skill level and training needs in the management of adolescent …show more content…
Most early trials focused on diet and exercise counseling, behavioral modification and parental participation. These strategies have produced moderate weight loss, averaging 2-4 kg, yet most adolescents remained severely obese, with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 35 kg (Robinson, 1999; Johnson et al. 1997). In the last decade adolescent obesity treatment has shifted more towards behavioral treatment (BT), pharmacology and meal replacement products, which are aimed to reduce portion sizes and caloric intake. Berkowitz et al. (2003) selected at random group of 82 adolescents to participate in BT with either a placebo or Sibutramine, a medicine intended to create a feeling of satiety. Participants were instructed to consume only 1,300 calories a day and spend 120 minutes engaged in aerobic exercise. Results at months 3 and 6 indicated that participants treated by BT and Sibutramine, lost double the weight, then participants who were treated with BT and a placebo, 6.8 % vs 5.4 % BMI. (Sarwer & Dilks, …show more content…
One barrier is the lack of social interaction among extremely obese people. Another barrier is that most people treated with BT and medications regain weight. Unfortunately, there is limited information regarding the success and long-term weight management in obese adolescents. For these reasons and a variety of others, investigators have shifted focus onto Bariatric surgery to treat adolescents with extreme obesity. To receive a recommendation for Bariatric surgery, adolescents must be extremely obese, have unsuccessfully attempted widely known forms of treatment, and that modest treatment had a marginal effect on his or her, physical or psychosocial state (Whitaker et al. 1997). (Sarwer & Dilks,