Aims/Objectives/Background The aim of this project was to identify and provide guidance to overweight and obese children attending the paediatric emergency department.

Paediatric obesity is a rising problem in the United Kingdom where around two thirds of children entering secondary school are either overweight or obese. This leads to significant health impacts in both the short and long term as more children are diagnosed with hypertension and obesity.

The Emergency Department provides a unique opportunity to introduce a brief intervention to identify these children, have a brief conversation and offer guidance on healthy lifestyle with referral back to primary care services.

Methods/Design We performed a Quality Improvement Project to measure height, weight and BMI centile in all children attending the Emergency Department to identify those who are overweight or obese. We created a toolkit that consists of training sessions and written resources for staff to sensitively communicate to parents about their child’s weight and empower them towards their journey for a healthier lifestyle.

We collected data from 10 children a week who met the inclusion criteria and established whether they had weight, height and BMI centile measured. We analysed the notes of those who had BMI centile measured to see if they had been discharged with a diagnosis of obesity and whether they were provided with information regarding healthy diet and lifestyle.

Results/Conclusions In a sample taken over 15 weeks, we have seen improvement in auxology measurement, and evaluation of notes shows that 4 children were appropriately identified as overweight or obese. Additionally, we increased awareness throughout the department by teaching, posters and word of mouth.

We are encouraged by these initial numbers and anticipate further improvements as we have developed a toolkit to provide ongoing teaching to staff in the department.