Why Prevention?
Following the guidelines for health supervision at well child visits, pediatricians and family practice providers give anticipatory guidance regarding health, safety, and development everyday. This includes educating patients and families on age- appropriate nutrition and physical activity guidelines. Our prevention efforts are even more important in light of the severity of the childhood obesity epidemic. Not only does prevention work when put into practice, but prevention is important because:
• The probability of childhood obesity persisting into adulthood is estimated to increase from:
o 20% at 4 years of age to
o 80% by adolescence
• Prevention of obesity is critical because long-term outcome data for successful treatment approaches are limited.
• Early physical activity and dietary patterns track into adolescence and correlate with adult obesity risk.
