This book is the result of the dedication of the editors and authors to helping every pediatric health care provider, especially residents and early career providers, understand and be able to implement obesity prevention and treatment in their practice. To that end, the book is organized into three main areas: obesity prevention, obesity treatment, and community and policy advocacy. Within these areas the reader will find developmentally targeted strategies for prevention as well as age-appropriate parenting advice for feeding and physical activity in Chapters 1 through 10. Chapters 11 through 17 on treatment of pediatric obesity revolve around assessment, stages of treatment, and addressing obesity related comorbidities. The last section, comprising Chapters 18 through 22, addresses the pediatric health care provider's role in the community, advocacy, quality improvement, and policy development.
The community of practitioners in pediatric obesity is growing but is still a small one, and I would like to thank all the authors who took the time from their clinical practices to contribute to this book. A special thanks to my co-editor Sarah Hampl, who spent countless hours of dedicated effort from beginning to end to see this book come to fruition. Also, special thanks to our associate editors, Wendy Slusser and Jeannie Huang, who shared their in-depth experience and expertise in developing resident education programs around childhood obesity with us, as well as spending innumerable hours editing these chapters.
All of us who have cared for children with obesity and their families understand the challenge and the complex nature of prevention and treatment in the context of this chronic disease and it is hoped that this book serves to help pediatric health care providers begin to incorporate this work into their daily practice.