In 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued groundbreaking guidelines to tackle childhood obesity, affecting over 14 million U.S. children and adolescents. These guidelines advocate for earlier, more aggressive interventions, including evaluating adolescents with severe obesity for bariatric surgery and the use of weight loss medications like Ozempic, alongside behavioral and lifestyle treatments. While some healthcare professionals hailed these measures, others expressed concern about whether it goes too far. Those who argue the guidelines are good medicine say that it is a step forward in recognizing obesity as a condition requiring a range of medical interventions and emphasize the importance of preventing health problems associated with obesity, such as diabetes, heart disease, and mental health issues. Those who argue that the guidelines are too extremeworry that these approaches could negatively impact children's mental health and body image, contributing to weight stigma and shame. They also question the safety of using weight-loss medications and surgery in children, saying that more research and caution are needed.With this context, we debate the question: Childhood Obesity Guidelines: Good Medicine or Too Extreme?
John is president and publisher of Harper’s Magazine, the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in America. He has served in this role since 1983.
Any project funded by February’s $789 billion stimulus package is meant to use only US made steel and manufactured goods. Any financial institution receiving bail out funds must give preference to citizens. Will these policies backfire? Opponents say these policies will have little direct impact on job creation, and could have very harmful repercussions by triggering a global trade war in which each country seeks to “beggar its neighbor” in a vicious cycle of economic decline. Proponents argue that these…
Any project funded by February’s $789 billion stimulus package is meant to use only US made steel and manufactured goods. Any financial institution receiving bail out funds must give preference to citizens. Will these policies…