Paediatric obesity diagnosis and intervention practices in Australian hospitals - Australia-wide survey.

Aim: Previous studies suggest a lack of a unified approach in identifying and addressing children with obesity while being inpatients in individual Australian hospitals. Our study aimed to describe current clinical practice across Australia and identify discrepancies that can aid in developing a more unified response to children identified with obesity as hospital inpatients.

Methods: A cross-sectional exploratory online survey was distributed to major paediatric in-patient departments in Australia, with a response rate of 68%. Questions focused on education, identification, interventions and attitudes towards a national protocol.

Results: Twenty percent of respondents indicated that staff in their department regularly record body mass index, 66% address weight issues and only 8% consistently refer to appropriate outpatient services. Although 88% of respondents believe that a national protocol for addressing paediatric obesity would be beneficial, respondents emphasised concerns regarding their local resources.

Conclusion: Our study can inform the development of a guideline for a unified response to opportunistically identify children with overweight and obesity as inpatients.