Obesity Programs
UPDATE: Annual Report Card on Children's Health
Executive Summary
The epidemic of obesity has become one of
the most critical public health threats for Louisiana residents and
Americans. This epidemic has affected all age groups, boys and girls,
men and women, and reached across racial/ethnic and socioeconomic
groups. Obesity rates increased slightly during the 1970's, but
escalated for both children and adults during the 1980's and 1990's.
While the rate of increase may be slowing among adults, there are no
signs that the epidemic of childhood obesity is abating. In fact,
obesity is an increasing problem in young children, setting the stage
for an epidemic to continue far into the future. As a result, for the
first time in history, children are predicted to have a shorter life
expectancy than their parents (The New England Journal of Medicine,
Childhood Obesity; The Shape of Things to Come by David S. Ludwig,
M.D., Ph.D).
By 2010, some have predicted that the root causes
of the obesity epidemic, poor nutrition, and physical activity will
become the leading underlying causes of preventable deaths in the U.S.
The costs, both financial and personal, associated with obesity are
also increasing, in part, because obesity leads to higher rates of many
diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, asthma,
arthritis, disability and a number of psychological conditions,
including depression.
Stopping the obesity epidemic will not be easy,
but there are precedents for success. It will require the input, hard
work, skills, talents and perseverance of many people, a wide array of
organizations and groups, including the medical, educational,
non-profit and business communities, academia and government. A
multifaceted public awareness and prevention campaign is needed, with
special attention to selected groups, including Hispanics, Blacks,
Native Americans, and communities experiencing health disparities and
social and physical environments unsupportive of healthy eating and
physical activity.To address this important issue, IDO (Individuals
Developing Others), a non profit 501 (c)(3), intend to launch a
comprehensive Obesity Prevention Program to aid in controlling this
epidemic.
To decrease obesity, three priorities have been
identified: 1) increase the proportion of Louisiana residents who are
physically active; 2) improve access to physical activity
opportunities: 3) increase perception of obesity as a public health
risk; 4) increase knowledge and access of healthy food choices,
particularly low-income populations.
This report summarizes the deliberations of this
ongoing problem, outlines goals and objectives, and highlights
strategies and action steps that are critical to controlling and
preventing this epidemic.
To decrease obesity, three priorities have been
identified: 1) increase the proportion of Louisiana residents who are
physically active; 2) improve access to physical activity
opportunities: 3) increase perception of obesity as a public health
risk; 4) increase knowledge and access of healthy food choices,
particularly low-income populations.
This report summarizes the deliberations of this
ongoing problem, outlines goals and objectives, and highlights
strategies and action steps that are critical to controlling and
preventing this epidemic.
Goal 1
Increase the awareness of being overweight and
obesity as a major public health threat.
Increase the perception that obesity is a
significant public health risk by a wide array of stakeholders
including the healthcare community and the general public.
Increase the proportion of persons who know the
health risks and diseases (i.e., diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
cancer, arthritis, asthma) associated with overweight and obesity.
Increase the proportion of persons who know the
environmental, socioeconomic and personal factors (poor nutrition,
physical inactivity) that contribute to obesity.
Goal 2
Improve lifelong healthy eating.
Increase awareness and knowledge about healthy
eating.
Increase the proportion of persons who balance
caloric intake with energy expenditure to achieve and maintain a
healthy weight.
Increase the proportion of persons aged 2 years
and older who consume at least three daily servings of vegetables, with
at least one-third being dark green or orange vegetables, and at least
2 servings per day of fruits.
Goal 3
Increase lifelong physical activity.
Increase the proportion of adolescents and adults
aware of current physical activity guidelines and recommendations.
Increase the proportion of adults aged 18 and
older who meet current recommendations for physical activity,
specifically:
- Reduce to at most 20 percent the proportion
of adults aged 18 and older who engage in no leisure-time physical
activity.
- Increase the proportion of adults who engage
regularly, preferably daily, in moderate physical activity for at least
30 minutes per day, and/or vigorous physical activity for at least 20
minutes per day.
- Objective 3c
Increase the proportion of public facilities
offering physical activity and fitness programs.
Increase the proportion of [children and]
adolescents [aged 2-18] years who engage in moderate physical activity
for at least [60] minutes per day on five or more days of the week.
Increase the number/proportion of trips made by
walking, bicycling [and other means of self-propulsion (e.g.,
wheelchairs, rollerblading)].
Goal 4
Decrease exposure to television and other
recreational screen time.
Increase awareness and knowledge of
recommendations to limit television viewing and other recreational
screen time.
Increase the proportion of [children,]
adolescents, [and adults] who view television [and other recreational
screen time] no more than two hours per day.
Decrease exposure by children and youth to
advertisement for products associated with increased risk of obesity.
Statistics In Louisiana:
·
Obesity and overweight have reached epidemic proportions
·
Louisiana is ranked 4th highest in the country in obesity
·
63% of Louisiana adults are obese or overweight
·
17% of Louisiana children or overweight, and an equal amount are
estimated to be at risk for overweight
·
Since 1990, obesity rate increased from 12.3% to 30.8% of the
population, contributing to the United Health Foundation ranking
of Louisiana as 50th for 2006
·
Obesity & overweight are associated with increased risk for costly
chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
osteoarthritis and some cancers
·
Obese adults have a 36% higher average annual medical expenditure than
adults at normal weight
·
The cost of child obesity-associated illness increased from 35 to 127
million in the past 2 decades
·
Children are being diagnosed with adult diseases
Plan For Implementation:
Just For
Kids Obesity Prevention Program!
Just For Kids! was developed at
the University of California School of Medicine, successfully tested in
San Francisco schools, and is based on the nation's leading pediatric
obesity program for over 20 years.
Just For Kids! is a health
education program for all children which helps them
make changes in their diet, exercise, communication and affect which
result in decreased obesity, improved cardiovascular and physical
fitness, and increased nutrition knowledge.
10 Weeks
Just For Kids! takes about 10
weeks to complete the initial program and an ongoing maintenance
program thereafter. Each week the Just For Kids!
Workbook guides children in making changes in their habits and
lifestyle which improve their fitness and knowledge. The program may be
completed in a group format or individually.
The Just For Kids! Workbook is
divided into nine tabbed sections, and each section is normally
completed in one week. This allows children time to make suggested
changes in their behavior and to practice the new skills they learn in
each section.
Approach
Just For Kids! uses a variety
of cognitive, behavioral and affective techniques to help children make
successive, small behavior changes that are sustainable. It is a
developmental skills training activity that teaches children how to
modify their eating and physical activity behaviors, become more
self-nurturing, develop effective limit-setting skills, and build a
more positive body image.
When Just For Kids! is used in
a classroom setting, children can use role-playing to learn how to
handle teasing, practice problem-solving techniques, and learn more
effective ways to talk about their feelings. Using a game-like approach
and hands-on materials, children learn the difference between high-fat
and low-fat foods and are taught the kinds of physical activities that
make their bodies stronger and healthier.
Development
Just For Kids! was developed by
faculty members of the University of California, San Francisco, School
of Medicine and includes contributions from nutrition, exercise
physiology, endocrinology, psychology, family therapy, adolescent
medicine, family medicine and behavioral and developmental pediatrics. Just
For Kids! reflects current scientific and clinical
understandings.
Just For Kids! was adapted from
the SHAPEDOWN Pediatric Obesity Program, the nation's leading weight
management program for children and adolescents. SHAPEDOWN is currently
offered in over 400 hospitals, HMO's and clinics, and by hundreds of
health professional private practitioners providing pediatric obesity
care to families nationwide.
Effective
Just For Kids! has been tested
and revised over a 20 year period. Field testing in school settings
began in 1992. Hundreds of thousands of young people and
their families have used this approach to change their lives.
Children in Just For Kids!
enhance their self-esteem, improve peer relationships, adopt healthier
habits and begin to normalize their weight within their genetic
potential. The child becomes healthier and stronger. Just For
Kids! results go far beyond weight.
Developmentally Sensitive
The storyline portion of Just For Kids!
employs an ageless fairy tale format to model behavior change. While
most appropriate for 6- to 12-year-olds, Just For Kids!
has been used successfully with younger and older participants as well.
Addresses Underlying Factors
Just For Kids! incorporates a
broad range of psycho-educational techniques to address underlying
psychosocial correlates of the child's weight-related behaviors.
Included are problem solving, assertive and emotionally expressive
communication. In addition, cognitive and body image therapies are
used. Together these techniques help create the support children need
to stop their excessive appetites for food and inactive pursuits.
Protective
Just For Kids! is so gentle and
protective that any child could benefit from participating. The focus
is on becoming healthier and stronger, with an underlying theme of
obesity prevention.
Preventive
Just For Kids! dietary
recommendations are consistent with the U.S. Recommended Dietary
Allowances, the National Cholesterol Education Project Guidelines, and
the Food Pyramid. Recommendations for physical activity include
increasing daily endurance activities, enhancing overall activity
levels through chores, interests and social activities and decreasing
sedentary pursuits such as television viewing. Additional food
behaviors targeted include eating regular meals and eating in response
to hunger and satiety.
Sensitive
Respect for the individual child is inherent in Just
For Kids! The whole child is addressed, rather than just the
potential for obesity. The Program integrates ethnic, cultural and
economic differences into its content and addresses some of the
psychosocial issues pertinent to child development. The program
workbook includes examples of a range of family types including single
parent families and blended families. In addition, multiple
instructional modalities are used to enhance the program's utility with
learning-disabled children.
