My take on the new AAP guidelines

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released new guidelines for the treatment of childhood and adolescent ob*sity. They are incredibly aggressive and are 180 degrees from where we should be headed on this topic. 
The AAP does acknowledge that ob*sity is complicated and multifactorial, and that the studies they looked at to develop these guidelines don't actually meet the standards of quality they set. But they pressed on, regardless. Further, they made the jump that an increase in BMI is bad for health (not clear), and therefore, a decrease in BMI is good for health (even less clear). 
What we end up with is the AAP pathologizing larger bodies. Being fat is not actually a disease, but we are teaching kids that their bodies are wrong. None of this is helpful for the kid getting bullied or teased at school for being fat. Now they get to hear it from their doctor, too.
The recommendations the AAP has put out are as follows:

• For kids over the age of 2 with ob*sity, they recommend Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Treatment
• For kids over the age of 8 with "comorbid conditions" and kids over the age of 12 without "comorbid conditions," they recommend considering weight loss medications
• For kids over the age of 13, they recommend considering weight loss surgery

If you're not screaming yet, maybe read all that again.
None of this has been shown to be safe or effective. In fact, the authors admit that weight cycling can be expected. Basically for these kids' whole lives, they should be trying to lose weight and will gain and lose over and over. They are trying to normalize something we know to be harmful to physical and mental health.

What can parents do?
1. Opt out - refuse to participate in any of these "treatments"
2. Ask lots of questions about safety, effectiveness, and risks involved in proposed treatments
3. Model normal, healthy eating at home
4. Foster Intuitive Eating in your kids
5. Offer balanced meals and snacks and let your kids decide if and how much to eat
6. Get professional help from a weight-inclusive provider, if needed