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Review
. 2021 Jan;29(1):46-55.
doi: 10.1002/oby.22987.

Caring for US Children: Barriers to Effective Treatment in Children with the Disease of Obesity

Gitanjali Srivastava  1 , Nancy Browne  2 , Theodore K Kyle  3 , Valerie O'Hara  2 , Allen Browne  4 , Tamasyn Nelson  5 , Rebecca Puhl  6
Affiliations
Review

Caring for US Children: Barriers to Effective Treatment in Children with the Disease of Obesity

Gitanjali Srivastava et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2021 Jan.

Abstract

In 2020, impediments to pediatric obesity (PO) treatment remain pervasive, even though these barriers are clearly documented in medical literature. Providers must invest considerable resources to overcome these barriers to care. Notable barriers include gaps in medical education, misperceptions of the disease, weight bias and stigma, exclusion of coverage in health plans, and thus an unsustainable financial framework. Hence, this review offers an updated social-ecological framework of accessibility to care, wherein each barrier to care or variable is interdependent on the other and each is critical to creating forward momentum. The sum of all these variables is instrumental to overall smooth function, configured as a wheel. To treat PO effectively, all variables must be adequately addressed by stakeholders throughout the health care system in order to holistically comprehend and appreciate undertakings to advance the burgeoning field of PO medicine.

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