Department of Family Medicine Grand Rounds (FY2023-2024 Series): Comprehensive Obesity Care

Overview: The prevalence of pediatric obesity continues to rise. Currently, one in five children and adolescents are living with obesity. Early identification, lifestyle modifications, weight management pharmacotherapies, and bariatric surgery are required to prevent the life-limiting complications and co-morbidities.

1. Rationale: Pediatric obesity is a chronic disease that results from change in biology that results in dysregulation of appetite control and energy expenditure. Youth onset obesity results in early onset life-limiting complications. In 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that obesity pharmacotherapy be offered to youth with obesity ages 8 and older in an effort to improve health outcomes overtime in this high-risk cohort.
2. Desired Result: Practitioners attending prescribe obesity pharmacotherapy to youth living with obesity and monitor treatment outcomes.
3. Learning Objective(s): At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to
   1. Describe the efficacy and safety of obesity pharmacotherapy
   2. Evaluate the effectiveness of using obesity pharmacotherapy in youth living with obesity
   3. Monitor and manage side effects of obesity pharmacotherapies