Childhood obesity: Resources and support are available for your practice
In Australia, 1 in 4 children aged 5 to 17 years are overweight or living with obesity. As we know, behaviour, environment, and genetic factors all have a role in contributing to unhealthy higher weights in children.
Having conversations with younger patients who are experiencing overweight and obesity issues can be challenging, and sometimes cases can be complex. To assist you, resources and support are available now.
Where to start?
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Watch our short video about childhood obesity for some tips on where to start and available next steps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVSuzl9IazA
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GPs and general practice teams play an important role in measuring, monitoring and talking to children and their carers about weight management. By taking height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) and recording them in the patient's record at every visit, potential health issues can be identified early.
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Asking and recording ethnicity status is also important, as some cultures have a higher prevalence of obesity. By understanding a child's background, we can better address their health needs.
Resources and tools for GPs
- You can find helpful resources at HealthPathways, which offers a comprehensive guide to managing children who are living with overweight or obesity.
- Health and Wellbeing Queensland’s Clinicians Hub is an online resource centre that can help clinicians identify, prevent and manage unhealthy higher weights in children.
Support for your practice
The General Practice Quality Improvement team is able to assist you improve the recording and monitoring the weight classifications of children at your practice. For more assistance, please phone the team on 3864 7540 or email support@bsphn.org.au.