Abstract
Obesity is a serious chronic condition that requires a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach. The main components of obesity treatment are education towards healthy eating habits, increased physical activity, decreased sedentarism and regular sleep pattern.
Excess body weight is often associated with psychopathological behavior. Children often present with sadness, depression, low self-esteem, and therefore the role of psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy is highly important in the complex approach to the treatment of childhood obesity.
In recent years, the use of pharmacotherapy, both targeted for the treatment of certain genetic disorders and for the treatment of polygenic obesity, has significantly expanded. Three drugs are currently approved for use in children.
These are m etreleptin for genetically confirmed leptin deficiency, and setmelanotide, which is used in individuals with pathogenic variants of genes encoding leptin receptor, proopiomelanocortin or proprotein convertase genes, and in patients with Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Other types of obesity may benefit from treatment with liraglutide, which is a glucagon-like peptide 1 analogue.
Obesity research is ongoing, and new molecules and their combinations that may be complementary in a comprehensive approach to obesity treatment can be expected.