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Marie-Laure Frelut

Obesity in Children and Adolescents Publication date : March 1, 2003

In France, 16 per cent of all children are obese. Every fifteen years, that percentage doubles. The health consequences are serious (diabetes, cardiovascular complications, etc.) and the psychological suffering intense.
Parents and social services are both worried and perplexed: how did such an “epidemic” come about? What can be done to overcome obesity and to keep children from becoming overweight?
Written by one of the top specialists on child obesity, this is a highly accessible book aimed at a wide readership. It reviews what is known today about obesity in early childhood through adolescence, and its causes and cures. It is divided into two parts:

Part 1: Why do children become overweight?
How to determine if a child is overweight. What is the role of genetics? How is appetite governed? What are the psychological aspects of obesity? The consequences of obesity on health.

Part 2: What can be done?
Daring to talk about obesity. What are the goals? Moving, playing, eating. What are the traps? The role of the family. Specialised centres. Medication.

Marie-Laure Frelut is a paediatrician specialising in nutrition. She was awarded the Nutrition Prize by the French Académie de Médecine for her work on child obesity. She is currently the co-ordinator of the Paediatric Task Force of the European Association for the study of obesity.