UF Health Pediatric Metabolic & Obesity Program

At the UF Health Pediatric Metabolic & Obesity Program, located in the Gerold L. Schiebler CMS Center, we care about your child's health. Our program seeks to treat childhood obesity and prevent serious comorbidities through specialized assessment of underlying predisposing factors and tailored therapy with a focus on healthier habits and better overall health. Patients and families are guided through the process of developing a healthier lifestyle and weight loss by a team of experts, including:

• Pediatric endocrinologists
• Nurse practitioners
• Registered dietitians
• Social workers
• Licensed clinical mental health providers

Our expert staff can help determine a child's cardiometabolic risk, which is a combination of factors that lead to early heart disease. Rapid weight gain associated with glucose problems, cholesterol abnormalities, menstrual irregularity, elevated blood pressure, fatty liver infiltration and lack of physical activity all contribute to an increased cardiometabolic risk.

The program effort and its success is not solely based on BMI management, but focuses on a comorbid-centric approach that determines the therapeutic treatment plan for individual patients setting specific goals based on desired outcomes.

Bariatric Surgery

The Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program is the only accredited adolescent bariatric program in the state of Florida.

Our multidisciplinary clinic works closely with the Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program to support children with severe obesity, a medical condition that is seeing an increased prevalence in the United States.

Bariatric, or weight loss, surgery is recommended for patients with severe obesity defined by:

• BMI ≥ 35 with at least one obesity complication such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis or heart disease
• Or a BMI ≥ 40

Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery

• 90% of adolescents can have long term weight loss
• 20-30% decrease in weight in teenagers, typically
• Significant improvement or resolution of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea and musculoskeletal pain