Themed Workshops: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Childhood Obesity

Background: Childhood obesity (CO) has been increasing at a critical pace, and it has become what is considered to be a worldwide epidemic. Given its severity is of utmost importance the focus on its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Objective: In 2018, an obesity multidisciplinary consultation was created at our hospital. It involved the Pediatrics, Nutrion and Psychology Departments. Simultaneously, themed workshops were established in order to deepen the learning carried out in consultation, in a playful and outside-the-hospital environment.

Methods and Results: Due to the strong influence of the family’s lifestyle in the outcomes of CO, parents were also encouraged to participate in all of the activities of the workshop such as, label reading, healthy meal cooking and physical exercise. It was also provided a parents-only psychology session, that aimed to raise awareness for the importance of a family joint effort in order to achieve the therapeutic goals.

To date, a total of 3 editions were made, with the participation of 13 children, most of them female gender (8), with a median age of 11 years old (9-15 years). A family history of obesity was present in 69% of the participants. Prior to the first workshop, the participants had an average BMI z-score of +2.73 standard deviations (SD), with a reduction of this value to +2.50 SD on the last observation. This reduction reflects a decrease in the BMI z-score in 9 of the 13 participants (2 of them currently with a z-score < +2 SD). Two participants abandoned the follow-up in consultation.

Conclusion: Despite the modest measurable results obtained so far, it became perceptible a greater motivation from most of the participants and families to the understanding this pathology, highlighting the importance of keeping such initiatives.