Childhood obesity: Health Insurance generalizes reimbursed monitoring of children at risk aged 3 to 12

In order to stop the rise in cases of childhood obesity in France, the Health Insurance has decided to generalize a monitoring program for 3-12 year olds.

Childhood obesity “has become a major public health problem in France”, according to Health Insurance. Faced with the “worrying increase” of the phenomenon, the generalization of monitoring for children aged 3 to 12 at risk or in a situation of overweight was announced this Thursday, March 30.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, which did not help matters, 17% of 6-17 year olds were already overweight, including 4% affected by obesity. These figures worry the Health Insurance which underlines the many “proven risk factors” linked to this pathology, such as diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular disease.

#Prevention | Testimony of a family in Reunion accompanied by the #MissionFindYourCap allowing them to benefit from early and multidimensional care (dietary, psychological, physical activity), 100% reimbursed by the#Health Insurance pic.twitter.com/ggODonqNEe

— Health Insurance (@Assur_Maladie) March 30, 2023

It therefore decided to generalize the “Mission find your course” system, tested since 2018 in Seine-Saint-Denis, Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Reunion. Based on dietary and psychological monitoring, it has enabled the majority of children accompanied so far to “improve” or stabilize their body mass index (BMI).

Treatment concerns children from 3 to 12 years of age, must be prescribed by a doctor and take place in one of the 260 referenced structures, the list of which must be published on Ameli.fr. Health insurance will reimburse 100% for up to three assessments (dietary, psychological, physical activity) and 18 follow-up sessions, over a maximum period of two years.

It is not “a question of imposing a diet on the child to lose weight” but rather of helping him and his family “to adopt good lifestyle habits in the long term”, specifies the Health Insurance . Keys will be given in terms of diet, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, exposure to screens and even sleep.

Emphasis is placed on the need to act as soon as possible because, according to a report by the Haute Autorité de Santé dating from 2011, “the probability that a child in a situation of obesity will remain so in adulthood varies , according to studies, from 20% to 50% before puberty and from 50% to 70% after puberty”.