Objective: To review therapeutic approaches to childhood obesity and also its diagnosis and prevention.Sources of data: Searches were performed of scientific papers held on the MEDLINE, Ovid, Highwire and Scielo databases. Keywords utilized were: childhood obesity and a variety of combinations of this term with treatment , prevention and consequence . The search returned papers including review articles, observational studies, clinical trials and consensus statements. Bibliographical references in these articles were also investigated if it was perceived that they were relevant. Data was collected from 1998 to 2003.Summary of the findings: While a number of different Brazilian prevalence studies were found, few gave details of the results of educational programs in our country.Conclusions: Childhood obesity must be prevented through prescriptive diets from birth throughout childhood. Educational programs that might be applicable to primary health care or schools should receive further study. There is consensus that childhood obesity is increasing at a significant rate and that it is responsible for a number of different complications both during childhood and adulthood. During childhood, obesity management can be even more difficult than with adults because it is dependent on both changing habits and availability of parents and is further complicated by the child s lack of understanding of the damage caused by obesity.

No abstract

No abstract

Peripheral markers of iron status and food intake of iron do not seem to be modified in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but further studies assessing brain iron levels are needed to fully understand the role of iron in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder pathophysiology.

No abstract