Food intake and childhood obesity: accurate estimation of requirements?

This is a commentary to a study, that supports the recommendation of assessing more accurately energy intake and comparing it with the energy requirements estimated, preferably, in the singular child and give some suggestions for the public health strategy of childhood obesity prevention and treatment. The best time for intervention is confirmed before puberty, especially in females: in this age interval efforts should be concentrated. The energy unbalance target is different for universal prevention, selected at risk samples prevention, and treatment. The use of the model proposed by Hall et al. may be of help in identifying the expected energy requirement, so to facilitate the calculation of the energy unbalance target. However, to have the chance of traducing into practice the desired energy unbalance changes, a necessary pre-requisite is increasing in the families the knowledge and the awareness of energy content and composition of the child diet, by designing effective and sustainable nutritional education programs