In a move that should be of little surprise to anyone who isn’t blind, a panel of experts recently advised that children with obesity need “intensive behavioral interventions.”
Childhood obesity carries considerable health risks, but it can also cause an array of other problems, such as difficulty in school and diminished potential in the workforce. The financial burden of childhood obesity is also considerable, with an obese child incurring approximately $12,900 more in medical costs than one of a healthy weight, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
While many people these days may just go running to their doctor for an Ozempic prescription, the Federal Drug Administration has yet to approve weight loss drugs for kids younger than 12, leaving a chunk of the market out of the pharmaceutical industry’s hands for now.
Here’s a bit of what Fox News had to report on this situation:
“The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) conducted a systematic review of various types of weight management interventions — including behavioral counseling and prescription medications — for kids and teens aged 6 and older. The official recommendation was published in JAMA on Tuesday.
“The task force stated that people in this age group with a high BMI (95% or greater) should receive at least 26 hours of ‘comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions.’
“‘The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that providing or referring children and adolescents 6 years or older with a high BMI to comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions has a moderate net benefit,’ the recommendation stated.”
To read more about this development, please click HERE.