Physical Activity and Physical Fitness in Pediatric Obesity: What are the First Steps for Clinicians? Expert Conclusion from the 2016 ECOG Workshop

Grace O'Malley; Susanne Ring-Dimitriou; Paulina Nowicka; Andrea Vania; Marie-Laure Frelut; Nathalie Farpour-Lambert; Daniel Weghuber; David Thivel

Physical Activity and Physical Fitness in Pediatric Obesity: What are the First Steps for Clinicians? Expert Conclusion from the 2016 ECOG Workshop

Int J Exerc Sci. 2017 Jul 1;10(4):487-496. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Grace O'Malley^{1

2

3

4}, Susanne Ring-Dimitriou^{2

5}, Paulina Nowicka^{2

6

7}, Andrea Vania^{2

8}, Marie-Laure Frelut^{2

9}, Nathalie Farpour-Lambert^{4

10}, Daniel Weghuber^{2

11

12}, David Thivel^{2

13

14

15}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Population Health Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Dublin, IRELAND.
² European Childhood Obesity Group, Brussels, BELGIUM.
³ Department of Physiotherapy, Temple Street Children's University Hospital, Dublin, IRELAND.
⁴ European Association for the Study of Obesity, London, UK.
⁵ Department of Sport Science and Kinesiology, Paris Lodron-University, Salzburg, AUSTRIA.
⁶ Department of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, SWEDEN.
⁷ Division of Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, SWEDEN.
⁸ Department of Paediatrics and Paediatric Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University, Rome, ITALY.
⁹ Pediatric Endocrinology Department, Bicêtre Paris Sud University Hospital, FRANCE.
¹⁰ Obesity Prevention and Care Program Contrepoids, Service of Therapeutic Education for Chronic Diseases, Department of Community Medicine, Primary Care and Emergency, University Hospitals of Geneva and University of Geneva, Geneva, SWITZERLAND.
¹¹ Department of Pediatrics, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, AUSTRIA.
¹² Obesity Research Unit, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, AUSTRIA.
¹³ Laboratory of the Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise under Physiological and Pathological Conditions, Clermont Auvergne University, Clermont-Ferrand, FRANCE.
¹⁴ Auvergne Regional Center for Human Nutrition, Clermont-Ferrand, FRANCE.
¹⁵ CALORIS Obesity Clinical & Research Group, Clermont-Ferrand, FRANCE.

PMID: 28674594
PMCID: PMC5466409

Abstract

One of the main aims of the European Childhood Obesity Group (ECOG) is to assist healthcare workers in delivering evidence-based assessment and treatment of childhood obesity. Every year the ECOG Congress includes working groups whose objective is to highlight concerns faced by clinicians and practitioners who work in the field of pediatric obesity. This year, a working group was devoted to the assessment of physical activity and physical fitness in this population. The present commentary attempts to summarize the main themes identified by practitioners during these workshops in order to provide the basic and essential first steps required to address physical activity and fitness in children with obesity.

Keywords: Physical activity; clinical assessment; pediatric obesity; physical fitness.

Publication types

Editorial