Childhood obesity: The challenges for nurses
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Childhood obesity: The challenges for nurses

Sarah Penn Third-year children’s nursing student, University of Manchester
Joanne Kerr Child and adult health lecturer, University of Manchester

It is vital that nurses understand the factors that can lead to weight problems and engage with young people and their families to promote healthy diets and lifestyles, say Sarah Penn and Joanne Kerr

Obesity is one of the biggest challenges facing UK children’s nurses today. However, it is a problem borne of many causes and requiring multi-level interventions. It is important for children’s nurses to understand the underlying causes of patients’ weight issues and how to engage with young people and their families to achieve a healthy weight. Nurses must be willing to engage in policy debates about whether the UK governments are doing enough to combat what has been termed ‘the obesity epidemic’.

Nursing Children and Young People. 26, 2, 16-21. doi: 10.7748/ncyp2014.03.26.2.16.e398

Correspondence

sarah.penn@student.manchester.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review

Conflict of interest

None declared

Received: 07 May 2013

Accepted: 18 September 2013

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