Synopsis of the 2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children

The 2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines, when supported by a solid dissemination and implementation strategy, are the essential first steps to initiate successful changes in clinical practice on the management and prevention of a serious societal and public health problem that is reaching epidemic proportions. We hope the guidelines will be incorporated into daily clinical practice and form the basis of care maps and standards of care for overweight and obese individuals. We also hope that, by providing integrated clinical and public health recommendations, these guidelines will serve to remind us that obesity is a societal and public health issue that urgently requires a call to action. Ideally, these guidelines will reach out to the public at large and interested parties beyond the health sector, including policy-makers at various levels of government, to bring about changes in the environment that are more conducive to healthy living and activity practices and ultimately to reduce the occurrence of obesity. We need to reinstate physical activity into the daily lives of all Canadians to optimize our health status. A healthier population will transform us into a wealthier and more productive nation. The serious personal and societal consequences of inaction on the obesity epidemic can no longer be ignored. © 2007 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors.