How Primary Care Providers can Effectively Educate Pediatric Patients and their Parents on Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle Interventions

Work Type

Poster

Abstract

Despite numerous efforts by public health officials and clinicians to reduce pediatric obesity rates, they have accelerated in the past several decades. Obesity was declared a global health epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1997.

Obesity is a complex medical issue that is caused by an array of problems at the patient, parental, provider, environmental, and systemic levels.

Obesity is an excessive accumulation of body fat, which can serve as a risk factor for developing complications such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, cancer, and more.

Obesity in pediatrics is particularly concerning because of its effects on the endocrine system. Increased adiposity causes low-grade inflammation, which can then trigger hypothalamic-pituitary irregularities with consequences including delayed or early puberty and menstrual abnormalities. Furthermore, increased adiposity in areas like the abdomen, airway, and joints can lead to complications such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, obstructive sleep apnea, premature joint erosion, and immobility.

Currently, primary care providers (PCPs) are being framed as the key solution to the management of overweight and obese patients. Their unique advantage of observing children over longitudinal periods of time, having a family-centered perspective, and being seen as a reliable source of information make them indispensable in this fight against obesity.

However, many clinicians face barriers to conducting obesity management, including a lack of knowledge, confidence, resources, and time. It can also be difficult for PCPs to get parents to acknowledge that there is a problem and that something needs to be done.

While many challenges exist in a primary care setting, evidence-based practices like motivational interviewing (MI), family-based counseling, and simple visual tools can empower adults and children to build lifelong habits.

The goal of this project was to identify barriers that PCPs face when treating childhood obesity and to find strategies to overcome these challenges, without adding excessive time to visits.

Publication Date

5-18-2026

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