Health from head to toe: Effective strategies from a multi-disciplinary adolescent weight maintenance program

Obesity is a national health issue for children and adults. Obesity now affects 17% of all children and adolescents in the United States - triple the rate from just one generation ago. Childhood obesity can have a harmful effect on the body and lead to a variety of adult-onset disease prematurely. Many programs addressing childhood weight utilize the clinical setting, are costly to implement and focus on invasive treatments. A pediatric hospital has joined the effort to combat obesity by adopting a low-cost multi-disciplinary weight maintenance program targeting overweight children ages 8-17 and their families. Participants and their families and/or caregivers meet in small groups. Program staff includes an exercise specialist, nutritionist, and social worker. In the course of 16 weeks, participants gain knowledge and skills to change nutrition, physical activity and emotional coping behaviors (such as positive self talk), and set goals. Program staff utilize a variety of tools including multi-media presentations, goal tracking cards and incentives. The evaluation is pre-post test single group design and measures knowledge, BMI and fitness skills, self-concept, physical activity and nutrition behavior, and readiness to change. 100% of participants report that they would recommend this program to others. In 2011-2012, 53 participants completed a pre and post knowledge test. Scores improved 15.6% (p<.01). Fitness ability improved for push-ups, crunches and the sit and reach test (p<.01). Participants also met the goal of weight maintenance over the course of the program. This program is efficient and effective in teaching knowledge and skills to participants.