Physicians Nervous to Talk to Patients with Weight Issues

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Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland will conduct a series of workshops to teach physicians how to talk to parents about their child’s obesity-related health problems. A new statewide survey found that of 240 health care providers surveyed, over 90 percent admit they need training in strategies and skills for communicating with parents about their child’s weight problems.

“Weight management and obesity prevention begins with parents,” said Lydia Tinajero-Deck, M.D., Co-Director of the hospital’s Health Eating Active Living (HEAL) clinic. “We have an innovative program that combines obesity treatment, prevention, research and community outreach to help parents understand their child’s weight issues and give children the help they need to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, but we must be able to communicate that message with hope and not condemnation,” Dr. Tinajero-Deck.

According to the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), 16 percent of Alameda County adolescents 12 to 19 years of age were overweight or obese in 2006.

In addition, more than 60 percent of children 2 to 11 years of age eat less than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, while at least 30 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 are not engaged in any physical activity.

“Health care providers play a key role in the prevention and treatment of overweight children,” said Scott Gee, M.D., Medical Director of Prevention and Health Information, Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “However, because weight is often a sensitive and emotional issue for children and parents, the key is to motivate families to make changes towards a healthier weight by focusing on making behavioral improvements and not on the weight of the child,” said Dr. Gee who will be leading the discussion during the workshop.

The statewide physician survey and the workshops are sponsored by the Healthy Eating and Active Communities (HEAC) Initiative funded by the California Endowment. The HEAC Initiative in Oakland is a collaborative partnership that includes the Alameda County Public Health Department as the lead agency, along with the Oakland Unified School District and the East Bay Asian Youth Center.

The goal of the HEAC collaborative is to prevent child obesity by improving access to healthy foods and physical activity environment of school age children specifically in the San Antonio district of Oakland.

Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland

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