Documentation and management of paediatric obesity: Evidence from a paediatric inpatient unit

Hemani Sharma; Anthony Liu; Muhammad Aziz Rahman; Alison Poulton; Habib Bhurawala

doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2024.04.003

Documentation and management of paediatric obesity: Evidence from a paediatric inpatient unit

Obes Res Clin Pract. 2024 May 16:S1871-403X(24)00042-5. doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2024.04.003. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hemani Sharma¹, Anthony Liu², Muhammad Aziz Rahman³, Alison Poulton⁴, Habib Bhurawala⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Paediatrics, Nepean Hospital, Derby St, Kingswood, NSW 2750, Australia. Electronic address: hemani.sharma@health.nsw.gov.au.
² Department of Paediatrics, Nepean Hospital, Derby St, Kingswood, NSW 2750, Australia; Discipline of Paediatrics, The University of Sydney Nepean Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Derby St, Kingswood, NSW 2750, Australia. Electronic address: anthony.liu@sydney.edu.au.
³ School of Health, Federation University, PO Box 859, Berwick, VIC, Australia. Electronic address: ma.rahman@federation.edu.au.
⁴ Discipline of Paediatrics, The University of Sydney Nepean Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Derby St, Kingswood, NSW 2750, Australia. Electronic address: alison.poulton@sydney.edu.au.
⁵ Department of Paediatrics, Nepean Hospital, Derby St, Kingswood, NSW 2750, Australia; Discipline of Paediatrics, The University of Sydney Nepean Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Derby St, Kingswood, NSW 2750, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, University of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: habib.bhurawala@health.nsw.gov.au.

PMID: 38760262
DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2024.04.003

Abstract

The obesity epidemic is a worldwide phenomenon.1 In Australia, the prevalence of paediatric overweight or obesity is 25%.2 Children with obesity present to medical services more frequently than children with a healthy weight.3 Therefore, any hospital admission is an opportunity for clinicians to identify and manage children with overweight or obesity. Previous research has not objectively measured how frequently clinicians document a child as being above the healthy weight range and initiate weight management strategies. This study addresses this gap in the literature by demonstrating the prevalence rate and clinical characteristics of children with overweight/obesity in a non-tertiary paediatric inpatient unit and measuring the rate of clinician recognition, documentation, and initiation of weight management strategies.

Keywords: Documentation; Inpatient; Obesity; Overweight; Paediatrics.