Lack of Diagnosis and Screening for Pediatric Obesity in the Retail Health Setting: Implications for Quality Improvement Measures

Abstract

Introduction: Pediatric obesity has reached an epidemic status. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients and how often and how accurately a diagnosis was coded. The population for this study included children aged 3-18 years. This cohort presented to retail health clinics in a large urban health system for school or sports physicals from June 1, 2017, to November 30, 2017.

Method: A retrospective chart review was conducted. Statistical analysis was performed to determine if there was a relationship between obesity and age, ethnicity, race, and sex.

Results: The study identified that 15.9% of patients were overweight and 16.5% were obese. In practice, 99% of patients lacked a formal diagnosis of overweight or obesity; in addition, appropriate screening measures reflecting nutrition and physical activity were found to be lacking in 99% of cases.

Discussion: Strategies are needed to improve efforts to diagnose and manage overweight and obesity in pediatric population in the retail health setting. Organizational recommendations for change are suggested based on guidelines for childhood obesity.

Keywords: Body mass index percentage; obesity; overweight; pediatrics; retail health.