Efficacy of Nutrition and Physical Activity Counseling for Pre-adolescent Children in a Dental Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Pediatric dentists have the potential to make a positive impact on overweight/obesity in children. Objectives: To determine efficacy of brief counseling for healthy weight at dental visits and evaluate assessment of children's weight status. Methods: 168 children (6-11-years old) were allocated to test and control groups. Children's weight status was determined using WHO and simplified overweight screening tables. Parents completed a questionnaire regarding their child's nutrition, physical activity, and screen time. Parents in the test group received the brief counseling intervention. Data measurements were repeated at the recall appointment. Results: Screen time was the only outcome that changed due to counseling. At baseline, the prevalence of healthy weight status was 65.5%. The simplified overweight screening tool had 80% agreement with the WHO BMI tables. Conclusions: This exploratory study indicates the potential for effectiveness of short counseling upon screen time and usability of the overweight screening tool.M.Sc

Validity of a simplified screening instrument for assessing overweight children in a dental setting: a cross sectional study

Abstract Background Obesity, with its rising prevalence among Canadians and its estimated cost of $2 billion annually in Canada, is no longer considered a cosmetic issue, but a major health issue that imposes a great burden on the healthcare system and economy. This cross sectional study aims to evaluate the feasibility of identifying the weight status of 6 to 11 year-old children in a university dental clinic using a simplified overweight screening instrument. Methods One hundred sixty eight healthy children were enrolled. Weight and height were measured and overweight/obesity status was assessed using two techniques: 1) the 2007 World Health Organization Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age reference Tables, 2) simplified overweight screening instrument without BMI calculation. Measures of overall, positive, and negative percent agreement between the two approaches were computed. Results The children’s average weight, height, BMI and BMI z-score were respectively 32.6 ± 9.5 kg, 133.8 ± 10.7 cm, 17.8 ± 3.2, and 0.4 ± 1.0. The overall, positive, and negative percent agreement between the two screening approaches were respectively, 89%, 100%, and 83%. Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility and parental acceptance of weight, height and BMI measurement in a dental setting and evidence that supports the validity of a new simplified approach to assess children’s weight status without having to compute BMI. Trial registration NCT02637752 . Registered 18 December 2015