Published Papers

Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pediatrics

More than 10 years have passed since the first Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) for obesity management were published, which included guidelines for both adults and children. We believe there is a need to update the CPGs to ensure they reflect current management strategies and incorporate emerging therapies and principles, including patient-centered and inter-professional approaches. We are taking a systematic, evidence-based approach to updating the guidelines with partners who have extensive expertise in conducting knowledge syntheses to inform guideline development. We believe that children, youth, and families living with obesity should expect that health care professionals are knowledgeable and competent in pediatric weight management, which is why our primary audience for these CPGs includes health care professionals and health care decision makers. The guidelines will include recommendations to establish core competencies among health care professionals to optimize patient-centered care. We anticipate the guidelines will be used by decision makers to inform future health services and policies to improve evidence-based care for managing pediatric obesity.

Starting as a self-organized group of clinicians and researchers in early 2019, our Executive Steering Committee grew over several months to include (a) parent and family representatives, (b) experts in knowledge syntheses and guideline development, and (c) administrative and research support from Obesity Canada and the University of Alberta.

Administrative and research support are provided by Samantha Davies (University of Alberta), Dawn Hatanaka (Obesity Canada), and Nicole Pearce (Obesity Canada).

Over recent months, we’ve been in touch with representatives from numerous national and provincial organizations to (a) inform them of our ongoing work to update the CPGs and (2) explore opportunities for potential collaboration and information sharing. These groups include: Alberta Health Services, Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons, Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, Canadian Paediatric Society, Canadian Psychological Association, Canadian Society of Endocrinology & Metabolism, Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, College of Family Physicians of Canada, Childhood Obesity Foundation, Diabetes Canada, Dietitians of Canada, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, Pediatricians Alliance of Ontario, and Public Health Agency of Canada.

Over the past few months, work has continued on updating the clinical practice guidelines for managing pediatric obesity in Canada. The group has been working with research methodologists who will be helping to lead the systematic reviews (5 will be conducted) that will search and synthesize the evidence on a variety of relevant topics. In addition to this planning, the group is surveying a group of parents to learn about the treatment outcomes that are most important to them. Collectively, all of this information will be used by the committee to inform the guidelines and recommendations. This planning and surveying will continue over the summer months, with the literature searches to start early in Fall, 2020. Click the image for a development timeline.

Work continues on updating clinical practice guideline for managing pediatric obesity in Canada. To inform the guideline, we’re carrying out five literature reviews on topics related to the effectiveness of obesity management using interventions that focus on (1) behavioural, (2) pharmacotherapeutic, and (3) surgical approaches. These reviews are complemented by two others on (4) clinical assessment and (5) families’ values and preferences.

If you are interested in collaborating, or funding opportunities with this project, please contact us for more information at info@obesitynetwork.ca