Obesity

These days, the increasing rate of obesity among America’s kids is a pressing concern. First Lady Michelle Obama has even taken on the issue with her “Let’s Move” campaign, whose goal is to end childhood obesity in the next generation. But what exactly does it mean to be an obese child?

• Obesity occurs when a child is significantly over the ideal weight for her height.
   
• Obesity in children is determined by using a body mass index (BMI) percentile.
   
• The prevalence of obesity in children in the United States increased by 100 percent between 1980 and the mid-1990s.
   
• Obesity can increase a child’s risk for serious and chronic medical problems, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, orthopedic problems and liver disease.

How Children’s Hospital Boston approaches obesity

Programs at Children's

Children’s has two hospital-based programs to help children and their families manage their weight.

• Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) Program: The largest pediatric weight management clinic in New England treats overweight children between the ages of 2 and 20.

• One Step Ahead (OSA) Program: Focused on prevention and management, OSA treats 3-13 year-olds. The program is part of Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center (CHPCC).

Programs in the community

Kids who live in inner cities and minority children have a higher risk for obesity. To help serve these young people and their families, Children’s has partnered with organizations in several Boston communities:

• Fitness in the City (FIC) program: Children’s works with 11 Boston community health centers to offer culturally-sensitive obesity prevention and management programs. Children’s is working with the centers to track long-term results of diet and lifestyle changes.
   
• Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities: A partnership among Children’s, the Boston Red Sox and Northeastern University. This is an obesity prevention program targeting preschool-age children. The program partners with Action for Boston Community Development, Head Start and the Boston Centers for Youth and Families to provide nutrition workshops and exercise programs for families in the community.

• OWL on the Road: An obesity treatment program serving financially disadvantaged children in Boston. The program is provided through the OWL clinic and funded from a grant from the New Balance Foundation. Each week, a team consisting of a physician, nurse practitioner, dietitian and psychologist visits a neighborhood health center to provide services free of charge to the family, center or insurance companies.
   

Obesity: Reviewed by David Ludwig, MD, PhD
© Children’s Hospital Boston, 2010