National Obesity Forum - Obesity Care Pathway

Details: Published on Monday, 09 June 2008

(Preconception to 18 years)

Siobhan Ahearne-Smith 18th March 2008

Background

Primary prevention should be the unequivocal first strategy for halting childhood obesity. Statistics from the UK National Child Measurement Programme (2006-07) indicate the prevalence of overweight/obese children at age 4-5 to be 22.9%. Amongst 10-11 year old children 31.6% were found overweight/obese.¹The true picture of overweight/obese children may however be higher as these figures were based only on 80% participation and research results indicate that a proportion of children who may be overweight/obese may not have been included in the measurement process.¹ Further emphasizing that there is an absolute requirement for an approach to primary prevention of child obesity are the disturbing predictions of the Government¬ís scientific expert committee, the FORESIGHT team, which predicts that, by 2050, 55% of boys could be overweight or obese and 70% of girls overweight or obese.²

Pharmacotherapy

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Click here to open and view the NOF weight management protocol.

At Risk

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Running a successful weight management clinic

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

A few key tips on what differentiates a successful weight management clinic:

Ongoing Review

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Continue with review/monitoring cycle. If successful, review every 6 months. If unsuccessful, consider

Initial Review

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

After looking at baseline data, consider

Physical activity interventions

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Top tips for brief physical activity interventions

Keeping people active over time - what works?

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Reflection on how schemes incorporate characteristics of known effective interventions may help increase longer term adherence. Review level evidence of healthcare and community settings suggests that:

Physical Activity

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Physical activity plays an important part in the prevention and management of obesity, but only if it is sustainable. Adherence to physical activity over the life course is the goal that patients and professionals should aim for. Following a short term programme will have limited effectiveness in long term weight management. Clients who increase their physical activity maintain their weight loss for longer.

Eat smart, shop smart, cook smart

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

There is a lot of, often contradictory, information out there about diets and healthy eating. For example, considering the Glycemic Index (GI) of a food can be useful in helping maintain consistent energy levels throughout the day (unfortunately this concept can be complicated).

Healthy eating - key messages

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Click Read More to see the Key messages

Healthy Eating

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Being overweight is usually a result of an imbalance in the energy taken in (food & drink) and energy used (activity). Typically this imbalance is only small (50-100 extra calories daily), but over time this adds up and leads to obesity.

Baseline data

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

Primary prevention of chronic disease is a priority, rather than waiting for a coronary event to occur or type II diabetes to develop. Identification of candidates for chronic disease by increased waist circumference, coupled with raised markers: BP; glucose; and cholesterol, and proactively treating obesity is essential.

Patient motivation - readiness to change

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

It is preferable to use a qualitative tool to assess if the patient is ready to lose weight. The following tool is based on the work of Prochaska and Diclemente and has been used by the CounterWeight Programme.

Referral from Tertiary care back to Primary Care

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

This grouping encompasses a number of conditions for which weight loss is the primary treatment, these include:

Service ideals and practical suggestions

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

We suggest that a weight management service should/ could encompass the following (this list is not definitive, but is offered as a suggestion, based on our experience):

A patient led NHS

Details: Published on Monday, 10 July 2006

A robust, weight management service should:

be based on best evidence, where ever possible
deliver a desired outcome for the user that will improve health
be cost effective to the PCT or user
be supported by primary care staff, particularly GPs.

Care pathway & toolkit

Details: Published on Tuesday, 09 May 2006

Welcome to the obesity care pathway and toolkit

This care pathway and toolkit has been developed by a multi-disciplinary group of healthcare professionals for use by healthcare professionals.

Click on the links below to open and download the care pathway documents in PDF format

NOF obesity care pathway

Useful information supporting the Obesity care Pathway:

	Toolkit - annexes

Recent additions

Featured items

About the National Obesity Forum

Website Sponsors
Site map	Terms and Conditions	Registered Charity No. 1109600

An approach to Primary Prevention of Obesity in children and adolescents