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K. Truong1, S. Park1, M.D. Tsiros2, N. Milne1
1Bond University, Physiotherapy Department, Gold Coast, Australia, 2University of South Australia, Allied Health and Human Performance, Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, Adelaide, Australia
Background: Despite targeted efforts globally to address childhood overweight or obesity, it remains poorly understood and challenging to manage. Physiotherapists have the potential to manage children with obesity as they are experts in movement and physical activity. However, their role remains unclear due to a lack of physiotherapy-specific guidelines. Exploration of existing literature is required to assist physiotherapists in evidence-based decision-making for managing children who are overweight or obese.
Purpose: This scoping review aims to explore existing literature, critically appraising and synthesising findings to guide physiotherapists in the evidence-based management of childhood overweight or obesity.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted in August 2019, including literature up to this date. A review protocol exists on Open Science Framework and can be viewed at https://osf.io/fap8g/. Four databases were accessed including PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Medline via OVID, with grey literature searched through google via “file:pdf”. A descriptive synthesis was undertaken to explore the impact of existing interventions and their efficacy.
Results: From the initial capture of 1789 articles, 255 intervention-based articles were included. Interventions included qualitative focused physical activity, quantitative focused physical activity and multicomponent interventions. Various outcome measures were utilised including health-, performance- and behaviour-related outcomes. The general trend for physiotherapy involvement with children who are obese appears to favour a multicomponent approach (implementing >one component with environmental modification and parental involvement) and a quantitative physical activity approach (focused on the quantity of bodily movement), as these most consistently demonstrated desirable changes across behavioural measures and health-related outcome measures, respectively.
Conclusion(s): When managing children with obesity, physiotherapists should consider quantitative physical activity and multicomponent approaches given consistent improvements in various obesity-related outcomes. Such approaches are well suited to the scope of physiotherapists and their expertise in physical activity prescription for the management of childhood obesity. Future research should examine the effect of motor skill interventions and consider the role of environmental modification/parental involvement as factors contributing to intervention success.
Implications: The current scoping review provides an increased understanding of the available evidence that may be used as information to guide physiotherapy management of childhood obesity and has highlighted existing evidence gaps in the research literature that warrant further detailed examination as they are related directly to physiotherapists’ scope of practice.
Funding, acknowledgements: No funding was obtained to support this research.
Keywords: Child Obesity, Physiotherapy, Management
Topic: Paediatrics
Did this work require ethics approval? No
Institution: Bond University
Committee: Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee
Reason: It was a review of existing literature and did not involve undertaking primary research.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
