Endocrine Abstracts

The management of childhood obesity has evolved from hospital led treatment to community-based programmes. This is an audit reviewing the impact of the active children eating smart (ACES) programme for overweight/obese children on the dietetic department in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children; Glasgow. A retrospective audit was carried out of referrals to the dietetic department. Clinic lists for dietetic appointments in 2008 and 2010 were identified and reviewed. In 2008 and 2010 2.7% (28) and 5.9% (70) of total dietetic referrals were for overweight/obesity. There was a decrease in the number of dietetic appointments allocated to childhood overweight/obesity in 2010 (1.8%) in comparison to 2008 (2.7%). The decrease in appointments allocated to overweight/obesity is due to the ability of dieticians to re-refer patients to the ACES programme. Being able to refer to the ACES programme has led to a reduction in attrition rates, as there is poor clinic attendance for children referred with increased weight. Proportionally children under 5 years account for more appointments for overweight/obesity in 2010 than in 2008. There are a higher proportion of boys referred to the dietetic department with overweight/obesity than girls. The majority of children referred to the dietetic services for overweight/obesity are from the most deprived areas in the Greater Glasgow area. Referrals that were deemed more suitable to be referred to ACES were considered inappropriate referrals. The majority of the inappropriate referrals originated within the hospital; RHSC, 40.4%. Inappropriate referrals from community health centres, GP and the health visitor accounted for 38.3%, 19.2% of the referrals and 2.1% respectively. The ACES programme has impacted on the number of referrals to the dietetic department. Health care professionals would benefit from further education on the management options available for childhood obesity, including further information on the ACES programme.