The approach to treating childhood obesity | Anita Vreugdenhil | TEDxMaastricht

Unfortunately there is no magic pill or spell to curing obesity but the good news is that we do have the tools to take a small but important step by getting rid of our judgement and bias towards children with obesity. [Filmed at TEDxMaastricht] Dr Anita Vreugdenhil, Paediatric Gastroenterologist at Maastricht University Medical Centre, is the founder of the Maastricht programme COACH which encompasses an ‘all-inclusive’ approach to improve the lifestyle of overweight and obese children in the South of the Netherlands. Overweight, a condition in which a person’s weight is 10%-20% higher than what is considered as “normal”, and obesity, when a person’s weight is more than 20% higher than normal, are rapidly becoming a national health threat in the Netherlands, especially among children. The latest figures indicate that 500.000 children in the Netherlands are overweight or obese. But many parents don’t realise that their child is overweight and are not aware of the severe consequences. Even when they become aware of the problem, they still don’t know how to correct and change their ingrained behaviour. That’s where Anita and her team can help. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx