From PTJ: New Recommendations for PT Treatment of Childhood Obesity
Primary care providers, rather than simply prescribing physical activity to young patients with obesity, should involve physical therapists (PTs) who can assess the child’s risk factors and evaluate and monitor the child’s increasing level of physical activity, say authors of a clinical recommendation in Physical Therapy(PTJ), APTA’s science journal.
While children with obesity need to increase their level of physical activity, they also are more likely to have comorbid conditions such as diabetes, asthma, or hypertension, and they also are at increased risk of injury from exercise. The authors, who represent the Belgian Physical Therapy Association (AXXON), present clinical recommendations for “first-line” PTs treating children and adolescents with obesity in a private practice or home care setting.