To address soaring rates of childhood obesity, the American Academy of Pediatrics last year endorsed tactics it once considered risky.
“Watchful waiting” had been standard practice, in part from concern that a doctor’s focus on weight could inadvertently plant the seed for stigma or eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
The influential academy now said pediatricians should pursue “early treatment at the highest level of intensity appropriate for and available to the child.” Some teenagers should undergo bariatric surgery. Others should inject the obesity drug Wegovy. Some children as young as 2 should undergo intensive behavioral treatment.
