Friday, June 8, 2012

Plenary Session - OBESITY EPIDEMIC IN CANADA

Co-Chairs: Drs. David Lau, Simon Marceau

Obesity in Children and Adolescent

The prevalence of childhood obesity in Canada has increased with 26% of children meeting definition of overweight or obese.  A proportion of children meet criteria for ‘complex severe obesity’ which has been defined as a BMI >95th percentile for their age and gender in addition to at least one significant obesity-related co-morbidity requiring specialty care, other co-existing chronic illness impacted by obesity, or a BMI ≥99th percentile for their age and gender.  In the USA, it has been estimated that 4% of children meet criteria for severe obesity, and rates are likely comparable in Canada.  These children are at high risk of acute and long-term medical and psychosocial morbidities, all of which may significantly impact significantly on their developmental trajectories in terms of physical and psychological maturation. Optimal management strategies for this group of patients are not well studied, although general principals include emphasis on a comprehensive family-based lifestyle intervention, while addressing medical and psychological aspects of obesity, as well as motivation to change behaviours.  Further treatment options, such as bariatric surgery, may be necessary, but require a skilled interdisciplinary team and careful selection of candidates most likely to benefit from these procedures.

Objectives:

At the end of this presentation participants should be able to:

1)  define childhood overweight and obesity

2)  understand the common comorbidities, both psychosocial and medical, that may occur in children with obesity

3)  outline the general principles in obesity management for children with severe obesity

Speaker

Jill Hamilton, MD, FRCPC
Staff Physician, Division of Endocrinology
Associate Professor, University of Toronto
Senior Associate Scientist, SickKids Research Institute
Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children

Jill Hamilton (MD, MSc, FRCPC) is a Pediatric Endocrinologist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Senior Associate Scientist at the Research Institute, and Associate Professor of Paediatrics at University of Toronto.  Her clinical work is in endocrinology and diabetes with a particular focus in the areas of complex obesity (including hypothalamic obesity and bariatric surgery patients), She is the medical director for lead SickKids Team Obesity Management Program (STOMP). Her research has focused on insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell function and the metabolic complications of obesity in childhood. She has over 50 peer-reviewed publications and has received funding for her research from national agencies including Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) and Canadian Diabetes Association.