GP interventions show childhood obesity ‘preventable’

Childhood obesity can be prevented if GPs start to weigh toddlers at 13 months and talk to parents about nutrition, according to new research.

More than one in five children in Ireland between the ages of two and four are now classed as overweight or obese.

The study, published in this month’s Irish Medical Journal, tests the effectiveness of a GP’s discussion of nutrition with parents during their child’s scheduled 13-month immunisations.

Dr Eithne Doorley, one of the authors of the report, describes childhood obesity as a “huge public health problem”. “[It] does need to be urgently addressed both in individual households and on a government policy level,” she said.

“Studies have shown that overweight children are much more likely to be overweight as adults. This puts them at higher risk of associated health problems such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Early intervention is crucial.”

The authors found a structured talk, coupled with weight measurements and dietary advice, resulted in an increase in the child’s consumption of fruit and vegetables, a rise in physical activity, and a reduction in time spent watching TV.

Supervised exercise of more than 30 minutes a day increased from 69.2% to 89.3% while intake of fruit and vegetables increased from 20.5% to 28.6%.

The number of toddlers abstaining from unhealthy snacks also rose, from 15.4% to 21.4%, while watching television for more than two hours a day decreased from 12.8% to nil.

The majority of parents said they found the GP-led discussion useful and encouraged them to improve their child’s health.

“Previous studies based on interventions at school-going age have had disappointing results. We felt that the preschool age would be a critical time to intervene. This is the first Irish study to look at this type of primary care intervention aiming to prevent the onset of childhood obesity by educating parents,” Dr Doorley said.

“In our study, 90% of parents believe that toddlers can be overweight but 77% report never worrying about their child’s weight. More concerning, 90% of parents of overweight children did not worry about their child’s weight.”

The report referenced a study carried out in the US which showed that a five-year-old’s weight is a good indication of future health — if they were overweight then they four times more likely than other children to become obese.

A previous Irish study found 81.8% of overweight children were perceived to be a normal weight by their parents.

As such, the study says GPs are well-placed to assist in reliably identifying weight problems in children and provide suitable advice.