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Alison G. Hoppin, MD, is Associate Director for Pediatric Programs, Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center; Attending Physician in Pediatric
Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Massachusetts General Hospital; Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.Bariatric Times • March 2007

How are children and adolescents physically and emotionally unique in the field of obesity?

Dr. Hoppin: No general observations will apply to everyone, but there are some ways in which children and adolescents are unique. First, their bodies may be more responsive to healthy lifestyle changes than the bodies of adults. There is an excellent study¹ showing that an eight-month intervention to improve lifestyle using family-based behavioral techniques led to improved weight control 10 years later. With the exception of surgery, no interventions in adults have that type of long-term effect.

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by James W. Saxton, JD; Maggie M. Finkelstein, JD; and Susan Gallagher Camden, RN, MSN, PhD All from Stevens & Lee, Lawyers and Consultants

This second installment of our newest Bariatric Times column serves to answer all of your legal, managerial, treatment-related, and universal bariatric questions. Keep in the loop simply by reading your fellow bariatric professionals’ questions and our experts’ answers in the coming issues, or by sending in your own inquiries involving issues in your bariatric practice.

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