For Dimitri Athanasiadis, eating healthy didn’t always come easy, especially since he worked around food most of the day in his family-owned pizzeria. At 200 pounds and 5 feet 6 inches tall, Dimitri was a prime candidate for one of the weight management and fitness programs at Children’s Hospital Boston.
At the age of 15, Dimitri took part in One Step Ahead, a program developed by the Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center to prevent overweight children from progressing to obesity. He learned how to control portion sizes and became more physically active, sometimes taking 10,000 steps a day.
Like Dimitri, nearly 25 percent of children in Boston Public Schools are at risk for being overweight. That’s cause for alarm since children who are obese are twice as likely to develop Type II diabetes. Overweight children also often experience social discrimination, stress and poor self-esteem.
Children who are struggling with being overweight or who are at risk need access to specialty medical services, nutrition education and recreational opportunities. Last year, One Step Ahead, along with other hospital and community-based programs, encouraged more than 800 Boston area children to change their eating habits and be more active.
In addition to prevention programs at our own hospital campus and Martha Eliot Health Center, we’re partnering with and supporting other community health centers and recreational programs to help identify the best ways to engage children in fitness and nutrition. Last year, we funded new programs at eight community health centers and we’re working with them to learn what gets children moving and eating right.
Children’s is also working with community partners to advocate for policy changes that help children and families make healthier food choices and get more exercise. Clinical experts from Children’s are also trying to prevent and treat obesity.
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Putting youth in charge
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Tell a roomful of youth that a 2-liter bottle of sweetened soda contains more than a cup of sugar and you’ll see a number of jaws drop.
Getting youth to realize the nutritional content of the foods they eat is just one part of I’m iN Charge (INC), an obesity prevention program at our own Martha Eliot Health Center. A team of professionals encourage children who are overweight or who are at risk for being overweight to eat healthier and lead more active lifestyles. INC works with children one-on-one and as a group to teach them how to take charge of their health. The program shows children and their families how to eat balanced meals, read nutrition labels and engage in physical activities that interest them.
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"Drinking one can of sugar-sweetened soda every day can cause substantial weight gain for a child over the course of a year. Helping children discover healthy alternatives is an important part of our work."
David Ludwig, MD, PhD
Director, Optimal Weight
for Life (OWL) Program
Children's Hospital Boston |
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