Should the prevention of obesity be demedicalised?

Obesity prevalence is rapidly growing, particularly in children and young adolescents. It is proved to be important to prevent it within a public health strategy. Primary prevention of obesity should not be focused on obesity itself, but should be part of a global public health national policy, targeted to improve the nutritional status of the community, to reduce the risk for chronic diseases, to improve the health status and the quality of life of the general population. This overall prevention programme should be conducted on a large scale, at all level of the country infrastructure and sectors of society, and should acquired a strong local and regional support from communities, consumers and government, but it has also to be particularly focused on young subjects (and their family and school workers), especially in groups with low socio-economic status. Secondary prevention should be particularly focused on children with a high-risk for obesity and/or those with potential associated risk factors. Medical involvement is of a particular importance in this secondary prevention, to identify and to manage these at-risk children and young adolescents. The various approaches from a paediatrician, a physician specialised in human nutrition, a sociologist and a consumer representative are presented in this review.