J Am Acad Nurse Prac
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The purposes or this study were to (a) describe the prevention practices of nurse practitioners (NPs) regarding childhood obesity, (b) compare the practices of NPs by specialty, practice setting, and awareness of childhood obesity prevention guidelines, (c) identify relationships between prevention practices and demographic variables of NPs, and (d) examine the resources for and barriers to implementing prevention practices. ⋯ Although the majority of the NPs in this study reported being aware of childhood obesity prevention guidelines (73.7%), most were not consistently using BMI for age or monitoring children at increased risk for obesity. Because childhood obesity is escalating at such a rapid rate, it is critical that NPs working in family practice and pediatric practice settings take the necessary steps to help curtail obesity in childhood, including calculating BMI for age, targeting children at risk, and helping families develop healthy nutrition and physical activity habits. In addition to proper health supervision of children, NPs also need to be advocates in their communities to overcome barriers to childhood obesity prevention.