The Childhood Obesity Epidemic: A Role for Pediatric Dentists?

Resident: Cho
Author(s): Vann et al.
Journal: Pediatric Dentistry
Year. Volume (number). Page #’s: 2005. 27:271-276.
Major topic: Childhood Obesity
Type of Article: Literature Review

Main Purpose: Review the causes of childhood obesity, discuss relevance of obesity to dental health and disease, and highlight some of the actions pediatric dentists should take.

Key points:
Obesity is defined as an excess amount of body fat in proportion to lean body mass. BMI is calculated by the person’s weight in kg divided by the square of his or height in meters. BMI higher than 30 is considered obese.
8 common sense reasons for childhood obesity was discussed in Sports Illustrated: neighborhoods without sidewalks and parks, fear of childhood abduction, hard-working parents, less children in organized sports, emphasis on test scores, fast food, technology, and family traits.
Finnish study followed 516 children from birth to age 12 and used weight to predict caries experience. They found that obesity alone was not a good predictor of dental decay. Swedish study examined relationship between dental caries and risk factors for atherosclerosis in nearly 200 15-year olds in one small urban community. This study reported that children with DMFT score greater than 9 had a significantly higher BMI than caries-free children.

Recommendations:
AAP has 8 recommendations for Pediatric Dentists:
1. Encourage parents, teachers, coaches, and others who influence the child to discuss health habits.
2. Enlist policymakers to support a healthy lifestyle for children.
3. Encourage organizations responsible for health care to provide coverage for effective obesity prevention and treatment strategies.
4. Encourage public and private sources to fund research on obesity in children.
5. Support and advocate social marketing intended to promote healthy food choices.