YMCA program to tackle youth obesity
Youth obesity is increasing nationwide, and Louisville has not escaped this alarming trend. According to the Centers for Disease Control, only one in three Louisville residents has a normal weight while 36 percent are overweight and a third are obese. Louisville Metro’s Healthy Louisville 2020 report shows that nearly one in five kindergartners and sixth graders attending JCPS are obese.
As pediatricians, we see this problem first-hand on a daily basis. We’re also aware that there is a lack of local programs to address this issue.
In December 2015, the YMCA of Greater Louisville was selected by the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) to pilot Healthy Weight and Your Child, a program to empower children and their caretakers to lead better lifestyles through improved nutrition and increased physical activity. The goal of Healthy Weight and Your Child is to reduce youth obesity, and subsequent adult obesity, in our region. Additional benefits include a decrease in sedentary behaviors and improvements in child self-esteem and family relationships, all of which will improve the quality of life in our community.
At its core, the Healthy Weight and Your Child Program will serve children ages 7-13 who have been identified as obese by a healthcare provider and their families. Attendance by the child is required along with at least one parent or caregiver at each session. Participation will be based on referrals from health care providers and public health departments as well as parents and guardians who enroll on their own.
The yearlong program engages the whole family, so all family members can understand how the home environment and other factors influence the choices that lead to a healthy weight. Additionally, the program combines three elements of healthy eating, regular physical activity and behavior change.
Made up of groups of eight to 15 children and their parents/caregivers, the program creates a safe, fun and active environment for children and their families to explore and adopt proven methods to living a healthier lifestyle. Sessions are two hours long, with the first hour delivered in a classroom setting and the second hour focusing on physical activity.
Children eligible for the program must have a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile, receive approval for engaging in physical activity from their doctor or a health care provider and be accompanied by a parent or caregiver at every session.
The program is modeled on MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It!), which is the most widely disseminated and extensively evaluated child weight-management program in the world, with 13 years of operation and multiple studies documenting its effectiveness. Y-USA is modifying the program based on proven practices associated with the Y's successful Diabetes Prevention Program.
Our healthcare community is dealing with the immediate effects of youth obesity, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, prediabetes, as well as social problems and poor self-esteem. This program will not only help mitigate these conditions, it also will help prevent obese children from becoming obese adults at risk for problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, cancer and osteoarthritis.
We hope you will join us in supporting this program. In our practices, we will help the YMCA identify candidates for this innovative program and we intend to promote it with our client families. We urge families that have concerns about their children’s weight or their lack of physical activity to look into this opportunity. Payment is based on household income. You can find out if you qualify by attending informational sessions that begin this month at four area YMCAs. Here is the schedule of times and locations:
Informational meeting dates and times
- 10-11:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 20
Floyd County Family YMCA, 33 State Street, New Albany - 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23
Downtown YMCA Association Office, 545 S. Second Street - 5:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24
Chestnut Street Family YMCA, 930 W. Chestnut Street - 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25
Floyd County Family YMCA, 33 State Street, New Albany - 6-7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26
Oldham County YMCA, 20 Quality Place, Buckner
To register for a session, participants should contact Ime Okpokho at iokpokho@ymcalouisville.org or call her at 502-438-5763.
Dr. Gilbert Chien Liu is director of the Division of General Pediatrics at the University of Louisville. Dr. Erin Frazier, pediatrician, is medical director of the Office of Child Advocacy at Kosair Children’s Hospital.