This review asks health professionals to screen for obesity with the help of body mass index (BMI), talk concerning weight status with the affected children and their parents, and provide counseling on nutrition and physical exercise (Armstrong et al., 2016). Health professionals form a crucial section with respect to the tackling of obesity among children and teenagers. The main issue being researched concerning physical evaluation and diagnosis is the extensive and targeted assessment that will assist health professionals in evaluating severity and requirement for further screening or handling of comorbid conditions (Madeira et al., 2013). Physical evaluation outcomes will direct health professionals toward detecting and treating medical ailments that could otherwise have resulted in future inactivity and disability, offering a non-invasive mechanism to follow the progression of weight-associated comorbidities and ensuring the involvement of families in comprehending the impacts of overweight on the health of children.
The physical examination elements of this review entail checking for vital signs such as high blood pressure and heartbeat and the examination of eyes, head, ears, throat, nose, penis, gait, skin, chest, and back to mention a few (Armstrong et al., 2016). For instance, idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), a rare but concerning problem of obesity, occurs mainly in overweight female teenagers who experience morning headaches, vomiting, and nausea. Upon assessment, such a patient might show reduced or blurred vision, wooziness, ataxia, or back pain. Though papilledema, inflammation of the optic disc secondary to augmented intracranial pressure, occurs in just half of the patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension, it might be the only evident indication, particularly in children. The Frisen Scale is employed in the determination of the severity of papilledema were patients who show abnormal funduscopic assessment ought to be referred to ophthalmologists instantly.
The outcomes of the systematic review are valid since, for every physical assessment aspect, the researchers shed light on the result and its incidence among children and teenagers with obesity. They also enlighten on the significance and value of the outcomes, elucidate identified practices for the evaluation of severity, and evaluate the evidence concerning the requirement for an additional appraisal. The recommendations offered in the study signify that it is an extensive review of the present evidence, which comprises professional opinions (Campbell et al., 2014).
The ultimate results of the review do not seek to offer screening suggestions but instead alert health professionals on the occurrence of physical findings and offer an approach for the management of identified conditions (Armstrong et al., 2016). The researchers purposely chose physical assessment outcomes that are most prevalent and probable of influencing medical judgments. One of the findings under the vital signs is high blood pressure, which could be attributed to stress-related or kidney diseases, cardiovascular disorder, drug abuse, anemia, Cushing syndrome, or side effects of medicines, to mention a few. A buried penis is a physical examination in males that could influence clinical decision-making; it could be because of suprapubic fat buildup resulting in the emergence of a reduced penile shaft (Ghanem, Salonia, & MartināMorales, 2013). Another physical examination indicator is pannus, which denotes surplus skin as well as subcutaneous fat under the umbilicus.
This review can be applied to my performance as an advanced practice registered nurse or registered nurse. Despite the ample application of substantiation (referencing) with respect to the preparations for the study, the review deeply depended on pre-existing studies all through. The reliance on an extensive set of previous studies fortifies the arguments and enlightenments provided in the findings. Advanced practice registered nurses and registered nurses can use the insights provided in the review as a means of alerting them on the physical findings that call for weight management (Kushner & Ryan, 2014). Through its inclusive tackling of the efficacy of weight management on healthiness, the review ensures that the presented information is explicable not merely to advanced practice registered nurses and registered nurses but every stakeholder in the health sector and any other interested individual that reads it.
Under the financial disclosure section of the review, the authors evidently stated that there were no monetary relationships pertinent to the study to make known. This signifies that there was no external financing sought and that possibly the funding of the review was undertaken by the authors.
The review is exemplary as it comprehensively and systematically illustrates a detailed comprehension of the concerns of physical assessment outcomes amid children and teenagers with obesity coupled with an extensive examination and analysis of previous studies (Armstrong et al., 2016). The review portrays the author’s meticulous comprehension of the topic of obesity as the reference to pre-existing studies shows findings and problems regarding the subject matter that the review sought to address. However, the review fails to undertake a literature review on the topic, which may have weakened its significance. By carrying out the literature review, the authors could have demonstrated knowledge regarding the efficacy of physical examination on alerting clinicians’ decision-making and resultant benefit to the patients. In this regard, the literature review could have encompassed such things as theories, findings from similar research studies, and major facts and accounts. The literature review could have provided valuable information that could have informed advanced practice registered nurses, registered nurses, other health professionals, teenagers, and parents of the significance of physical examination and weight management practices with the purpose of timely detection and prevention of obesity.
The objective of the review was to underscore the significance of carrying out a targeted physical assessment in the course of pediatric weight checking sessions (Armstrong et al., 2016). The objective was accomplished as the review offers helpful insights that inform health professionals, parents, and every reader of the importance of physical assessment and weight management in the prevention, detection, and handling of obesity. The carrying out of the review was necessitated by the fact that physical assessment has had little consideration in the present medical studies. A thorough comprehension of the outcomes of physical assessment related to obesity may assist health professionals in numerous approaches. For instance, most findings may be quantified to assist health professionals’ further examination and judgment making. The explanation of physical results to parents may boost their awareness of the effects of obesity. Follow-up practices by the health professional may assist in monitoring reaction to treatment.
Though physical assessment might be more intricate in patients with obesity as represented in the review, the high risk for comorbid illnesses that are tractable with timely detection enhances the precedence for preventative assessments. Health professionals may promote advancements in healthy conduct, irrespective of the plan of the patients for, or success with, weight management. The review can be executed into the work of advanced practice registered nurse or registered nurse in promoting the enhancement of healthy habits and avoidance of obesity and regularly providing nutrition and physical activity counseling as a section of preventative guidance to every child and family despite the weight condition. In this regard, it is vital to identify children and adolescents at high risk for the development of obesity right from their early life (Clark, Fonarow, & Horwich, 2014).
References
Armstrong, S., Lazorick, S., Hampl, S., Skelton, J. A., Wood, C., Collier, D., & Perrin, E. M. (2016). Physical examination findings among children and adolescents with obesity: An evidence-based review. Pediatrics, 137(2), 1-10.
Campbell, F., Conti, G., Heckman, J. J., Moon, S. H., Pinto, R., Pungello, E., & Pan, Y. (2014). Early childhood investments substantially boost adult health. Science, 343(6178), 1478-1485.
Clark, A. L., Fonarow, G. C., & Horwich, T. B. (2014). Obesity and the obesity paradox in heart failure. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 56(4), 409-414.
Ghanem, H. M., Salonia, A., & MartināMorales, A. (2013). SOP: Physical examination and laboratory testing for men with erectile dysfunction. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(1), 108-110.
Kushner, R. F., & Ryan, D. H. (2014). Assessment and lifestyle management of patients with obesity: Clinical recommendations from systematic reviews. Jama, 312(9), 943-952.
Madeira, F. B., Silva, A. A., Veloso, H. F., Goldani, M. Z., Kac, G., Cardoso, V. C., & Barbieri, M. A. (2013). Normal weight obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in young adults from a middle-income country. PLoS One, 8(3), 606-673.