Multidisciplinary Child Obesity Consultation: 24 Month Experiment

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity in pediatrics has been increasing at an alarming rate. It is urgent to implement prevention, diagnosis and intervention strategies. With this in mind, the Multidisciplinary Obesity Consultation (CMO) was created in our service, with the support of Psychology and Nutrition

Objectives and Methodology: Observational, descriptive and retrospective study of the cases followed at CMO between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019.

Results: A total of 118 children were consulted between 2 and 17 years old, with a mean age of 11,2 years old and 53,4% being female. It should be noted that 16,8% missed the first consultation. Of the cases followed (n=98), 64,3% had a family history of overweight and 24,5% were overweight at 3 years old. Main dietary errors found were low consumption of fruits and vegetables and excessive consumption of sugar, in 83,3% and 65,6% of the cases, respectively. As complications: 44,9% have insulin resistance; 28,6% have dyslipidemia; of the 20% who underwent abdominal ultrasound, 47,4% had hepatic steatosis; 1 patient had high blood pressure and 4 have depression or anxiety disorder in need of drug therapy. Obesity was observed with a z-score equal to or greater than the standard deviation in 42,9% of cases. In subsequent consultations there was a decrease in the initial z-score in about half of the cases. The dropout rate for CMO was 52.0% before the first year of follow-up, of which 60.8% were adolescents.

Conclusions: Despite the decrease in the z-score, most of the children maintained their excessive weight, and almost half of them already has at least 1 associated complication. The requirement to modify behaviors and existing preconception that devalues this pathology leads to difficult consultation attendance. It is imperative to continue to invest and create strategies to improve adherence to the therapeutic plan.