The prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity has increased in recent years. This fact has raised concern in the health care field because obesity in general causes many health problems in the population at large, and also because obesity has many bio-psycho-social implications during childhood. The treatment of obesity is very complex since this disease has multifactorial causes, requiring an interdisciplinary response from health care professionals. This study was conducted to evaluate the role of physical education teachers in a group of professionals treating obese children and adolescents. Physical activity, after basal metabolic rate, is considered the second largest component of daily energy expenditure. Various studies have shown that physical activity with control of food intake produces the best results in treating weight loss compared to either of these treatments used independently. The increase of physical activity is very beneficial in the treatment of obese children and adolescents since it allows for a greater intake of food and at the same time maintains lean body mass. However, the type of physical activity should be adapted to the conditions of each child given that the obese person has an excess amount of weight along with the presence of active bone growth. Besides these precautions, the professional often has to deal with the difficulty of keeping the child or adolescent in an active, regular program of physical activity. It was found that promoting an increase in overall physical activity through a detailed, personal evaluation of his/her daily routine allows each patient to become more in touch with his/her own body. At the same time physical education teachers assist the child to find a type of sport that is enjoyable to him/her, but within the constraints of his/her excess weight and period of growth. It is generally recommended that the activities of the obese child or adolescent be low impact, such as swimming, walking, or riding a bicycle. The physical education teacher is an educator and thus should used his/her abilities in the multidisciplinary treatment of obese children and adolescents.
Physic education; Obesity; Adolescence