American Academy of Pediatrics shredded for pushing surgery to fight childhood obesity: 'Questionable at best'

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines recommending drastic medical solutions to childhood obesity and the internet was not impressed.

The guideline for "Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obesity" discussed treating obesity with a variety of methods, some of which have stirred controversy. 

The document mentioned obesity related interventions that "could involve any approach, including screening, counseling, medically managed weight loss, pharmaceutical treatment, or surgery."

While some critics of the document focus on the recommendation of pharmaceutical medication and surgery, the guidelines don't neglect to mention the need for "nutrition, physical activity, and health behavior change."

Obesity is a massive problem across America, especially in context of the COVID-19 pandemic. (iStock)

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A CBS news article headlined "Consider drugs and surgery early for obesity in kids, new guidelines say: ‘Waiting doesn't work’" caused an eruption across Twitter. 

Radiologist and National Review contributor Pradheep Shanker said, "This really is questionable at best." 

Christiana Pushaw, political aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., asked what happened to exercise and diet.

"What happened to encouraging your kids to exercise and not feeding them junk food? Childhood obesity isn’t an issue in most other countries. It’s almost unheard of," she tweeted. 

"Children don't need meds and surgeries for every ailment we afflict them with," Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon wrote. "They just need to eat less, play outside more, and not be groomed into a dangerous sex-obsessed gender cult."

Townhall columnist and podcaster Philip Holloway also suggested alternative methods.

"Rather than pushing pills on these kids, how about making the food supply less processed and more natural? How about reducing added sugar?" he asked. "How about teaching kids about real food and not fast, junk food? How about teaching a lower carb, higher fiber lifestyle?"

The Federalist staff editor Sam Mangold-Lenett appeared to parody the mindset of the AAP.

"’Instead of feeding your teenager a healthy diet and encouraging physical activity, you should give him drugs and liposuction.’"

Twitter users recently had a field day when a user suggested "The term ‘obese’ is a slur because it is used to dehumanize us."

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Commentators on the left and right seized the incident as an opportunity to call out the pharmaceutical industry.

"[C]razy idea how about diet and exercise instead of turning children into big pharma cocktails," populist YouTuber Shoe0nHead tweeted.

TPUSA contributor Lauren Chen wrote, "American pediatricians are so far up Big Pharma's rectum they'd rather prescribe drugs and surgery to overweight teens rather than exercise and healthy eating."

Daily Wire writer Matt Walsh echoed that sentiment. 

"Of course they're going to treat obesity with pharmaceuticals," he tweeted. "They already drug our kids for ‘attention deficits’ and other ‘diseases’ that make no sense and they can't define. Drugging them for obesity is far less extreme, though still insane and dangerous."

A body positivity advocate named Lexi appeared on a 2022 episode of Dr. Phil titled "Has the Body Positivity Movement Gone Too Far?" She argued against health concerns regarding obesity. (Grabien screenshot from Dr. Phil)

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The guidelines also had an entire section claiming that obesity could partially be based on racism.

"Inequalities in poverty, unemployment, and homeownership attributable to structural racism have been linked to increased obesity rates," they wrote. "Racism experienced in everyday life has also been associated with increased obesity prevalence."