The most common definition of obesity in childhood is weight in excess of 20% above ideal weight for age and gender and skinfold thickness in excess of the 85th percentile for age and gender. Any treatment plan for overweight children and adolescents should include three major components: diet, exercise and family-based behavior management. Children and adolescents should not be placed on restrictive diets because adequate calories are needed for proper growth and development. Aside from calorie excess and inactivity, genetics and environment predispose a child to be obese. Therefore, any program or treatment plan must include the caretakers, who in most cases are also overweight or obese.