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Recommendations Summary

Pediatric Weight Management (PWM) Assessing Foods and Pediatric Overweight

Click here to see the explanation of recommendation ratings (Strong, Fair, Weak, Consensus, Insufficient Evidence) and labels (Imperative or Conditional). To see more detail on the evidence from which the following recommendations were drawn, use the hyperlinks in the Supporting Evidence Section below.


  • Recommendation(s)

    PWM: Foods Associated with an Increased Risk of Overweight

    Dietary factors that may be associated with an increase in the risk of overweight and should be included in Nutrition Assessment are: increased total dietary fat intake and increased calorically sweetened beverages. ADA Evidence Analysis has shown that these factors are positively associated with childhood overweight.

    Rating: Strong
    Imperative

    PWM: Foods Associated with an Decreased Risk of Overweight

    Dietary factors that may be associated with a decrease in the risk of overweight and should be included in Nutrition Assessment are: increased fruit and vegetable intake. ADA Evidence Analysis has shown that these factors may be negatively associated with childhood overweight

    Rating: Strong
    Imperative

    PWM: Assessment - Total Energy Intake and 100% Fruit Juice

    Dietitians should be aware of the research on the following dietary factors when carrying out their Nutrition Assessment: reported total energy intake and 100% fruit juice intake. ADA Evidence Analysis has found that these factors may or may not be related to pediatric overweight, but the research is still unclear on the relationship.

    Rating: Fair
    Imperative

    PWM: Assessment - Dairy and Calcium

    Dietitians should be aware of the observational research that indicates an inadequate intake of dairy and calcium may be related to an increase in the risk of pediatric overweight. Consideration should be given to including dairy and calcium intake as part of the nutrition assessment.

    Rating: Fair
    Imperative

    • Risks/Harms of Implementing This Recommendation

      None

    • Conditions of Application

      The above topics were selected for evidence analysis. However:

      • The practitioner should not limit their assessment to these factors
      • Modification of these factors should be considered when developing the nutrition prescription
      • Evidence analysis on other factors is currently underway and will be added to the guideline as they are finished

    • Potential Costs Associated with Application

      None

    • Recommendation Narrative

      Evidence analysis was carried out on several foods associated with pediatric overweight.

      All factors are based only on observational (association) research and do not include research on interventions.

      The following foods and nutrients were associated with an increased risk of pediatric overweight:

      The following foods and nutrients were associated with a decreased risk of pediatric overweight:

      The following foods and nutrients may not be related to pediatric overweight. A relationship may or may not, in fact, exist, but research has not been able to determine this definitively.

    • Recommendation Strength Rationale

      No direct research was analyzed regarding the benefits of knowledge-based assessment and intervention practices. However, the work group felt strongly that knowledge of relevant scientific research is indispensible for responsible dietetic practice.

      With the exception of the evidence on dairy and calcium, all grades for the food and nutrient associations with childhood overweight were a Grade II. Additionally, while there is no risk to the patient/client with respect to the practitioner's knowledge of these factors, the dietitian's ignorance of this research could result in substantial risk to the patient/client.

    • Minority Opinions

      None