Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Monday, January 03, 2011

Blue Cross/Blue Shield Helping Doctors Treat Childhood Obesity

Blue Cross and Blue Shield  has developed a program to help doctors in their efforts to treat childhood obesity.  The program was first tested in North Carolina, where one-third of all children are obese or overweight.

The Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes Prevention Pilot Program will be active in ffive states in an effort to help reduce childhood obesity and prevent future cases of diabetes.

The following is from a press release announcing the program:

The toolkit materials display healthy messages from The Good Health Club, a group of animal characters.  The Good Health Club encourages kids to:

  • Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day
  • Limit screen time to 2 hours or less
  • Get at least 1 hour of physical activity
  • Limit sweetened drinks to 0

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.  Obese children or teens are at risk for health problems like heart disease and diabetes – the two leading causes of death in the United States.  The prevalence of obesity among children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 17 percent in 2006.1

 

Labels: health, doctors

Posted By: My Overweight Child

Comments:

Chelsea on 1/19/2011
Any program that can help kids is a good thing. The growing problem of childhood obesity has to be recognized and addressed by medical professionals.
Candy on 1/13/2011
I seeking the right person to help a doctor in our office get in touch with in the industry. Her name is Monica Pierson, MD. out of Overland Park, Kansas. She is the only doctor that is a bariatrian AND pediatrician in the United States. Besides being a pediatrician at Childrens Mercy in the evening and weekends, she owns a company called Weight Management Medical Center. She doesn't do any surgeries, she teaches lifestyle skills to adults and children. We hardly ever see overweight children. With this being an epidemic in this country, how could this be? She has asked to be a resource for insurance companies, etc... no one seems interested. Any ideas? Thanks, Candy Director of Marketing Weight Management Medical Center 6700 W. 121st Street, Suite 103 Overland Park, KS 66209 (913) 451-7777 www.theweightpros.com