Childhood Obesity: A Transtheoretical Case Management Approach

Childhood obesity is an increasing health problem because of its strong associations with chronic health problems in children and adults. Obesity during childhood commonly persists into adulthood and is resistant to interventions that involve only recommendations to decrease caloric intake and to increase caloric expenditure through increased physical activity. The challenge with this approach to childhood obesity is that it is not theoretically based, nor does it consider the child's or the parent's perceptions of the health problem or their transition along the stages of behavioral change. Case management has been proven to be successful in managing various chronic health problems in both adults and children. This article will introduce a new intervention model based on the transtheoretical framework by utilizing case management in a primary care setting to treat childhood obesity.