Health literacy versus pharmacological intervention for childhood obesity

PICOT

As Karnik and Kanekar (2012) show, there are many interventions available to health care providers for childhood obesity, which has fast become a "global public health crisis" in the world (p. 1). These interventions include the promotion of family bonding, education, and pharmacology.

The specific aim of this project is to improve outcomes with regard to children's health. By measuring the impact of one intervention against another, primary care providers can better understand which intervention may be more effective in helping to reduce the rate of childhood obesity for their patients.

This study will measure the weight, dietary and physical exercise habits of children and adolescent patients at a primary care facility over the duration of 6 months time. During that time, the patients will be exposed to two separate interventions -- a pharmacological intervention and a health literacy intervention.

The PICOT is as follows: In children and adolescents identified by primary care providers as at-risk for obesity (P) what is the effect of health literacy (I) on the population's dietary and exercise habits (O) compared with the pharmacological intervention of orlistat (C) within six months' time (T)?