Even though the proportion of children and teens who are overweight has nearly tripled since 1980, doctors are not discussing this issue with the patients or their families, US government researchers reported this week.

Such discussions are imperative, however, because they could influence patients to make lifestyle adjustments that would reduce the risk of health problems over their lifespans, the authors say.

Dr. C. L. Ogden, with the National Center for Health Statistics, and Dr. C. J. Tabak at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the 1999 to 2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, finding that only 36.7 percent of overweight children and teens had ever been told by a health-care professional that they were overweight.

Overweight was defined as having a body mass index (BMI) above the 95 percent percentile for their age and gender.

Age was a strong predictor of being told that they were overweight: from 17.4 percent of those ages 2 to 5 years, to 51.6 percent of those ages 16 to 19 years.

Black females were more likely to be advised about weight than their white counterparts. This may have resulted from a greater willingness to discuss the issue among those who were severely overweight (39 percent of black girls versus 17 percent of white girls).

Ogen and Tabak point out that overweight children who are not counseled are likely to be overweight or obese as adults.

They recommend that health-care providers discuss with families of overweight children the possible consequences, and offer specific behavioral strategies for them, “controlling the environment, monitoring behavior, setting goals and rewarding successful changes in behavior.”

SOURCE: MMWR, September 2, 2005.