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?
Virginia Heffernan is an American journalist and cultural critic. Since 2015, she has been a political columnist at the Los Angeles Times and a cultural columnist at Wired Magazine.
What's happening at The New York Times? The paper of record is under fire. Critics argue it has sacrificed journalistic and intellectual balance in favor of correcting historic inequalities. In the process, they say, that effort has stifled dissent and promoted social justice above all else. Not so, say its defenders. The paper has indeed evolved, they argue. Yet that evolution has been proven a particular strength in such tumultuous times. Subscriptions are up, while both casting a critically important…
What's happening at The New York Times? The paper of record is under fire. Critics argue it has sacrificed journalistic and intellectual balance in favor of correcting historic inequalities. In the process, they say, that…