About COAT

What is the Children’s Obesity Action Team (COAT)?

The Children’s Obesity Action Team (COAT) is a multidisciplinary group of health-care professionals that works to increase awareness, provide education and resources and act to decrease childhood obesity. COAT is dedicated to the development of culturally responsive and age-appropriate resources for families and providers.

COAT is Committed to

• Working with individuals, families, clinical settings, schools and the community to prevent, identify and manage childhood obesity
• Collaborating with community partners to promote healthy eating and active living for all children, especially those with chronic conditions and special needs, and to improve overall health outcomes
• Providing interdisciplinary weight management care through our clinical services
• Encouraging children and teens to develop appetite and mood self-regulation in order to help them create a more positive relationship with food and their bodies
• Performing research to learn more about the success of obesity prevention and treatment efforts
• Partnering with other national experts to improve the care of children who are overweight and obese

Because treatment of childhood obesity is still in the early stages, we continue to learn about the best approaches for preventing and managing childhood obesity through innovative research as well as through the clinical services that we offer.

These efforts will help reduce the health conditions that can occur with pediatric overweight, like asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, liver and heart disease and, ultimately, quality of life.

Learn more about our team members.

Partnerships

COAT has partnerships with the YMCA of Greater Seattle and the local chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA) to promote healthy eating and fitness.

YMCA of Greater Seattle

The YMCA of Greater Seattle, Seattle Children’s and Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic have partnered to offer Strong Kids/Strong Teens. This is a community-based healthy lifestyle program for overweight or obese youth, ages 8 to 14, and their parents.

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association (AHA) and COAT have partnered to help combat obesity by providing children and teens with age-specific healthy eating and physical activity education materials. The materials are called “Love them with all your HEART!” The message provides families a framework for changing eating patterns, boosting activity levels,  understanding the importance of mood and appetite regulation while encouraging a healthy body image. Some tips are:

• Help each other make wise choices about regular physical activity and healthy eating.
• Encouragement and support is important.
• Actions speak louder than words. Be a positive role model.
• Remember that change takes time. Take one step at a time.
• Target the whole family. Learn and practice new behaviors together!

This collaboration also distributes materials that help health-care providers discuss and treat obesity concerns with patients and their families. By co-branding the message and materials to acknowledge both Children’s and the AHA, we also raise the awareness among providers, families and the public about our interest and expertise in heart health issues. It helps build understanding of the role Children’s Heart Center plays in supporting heart health in our community.

Nationally, the AHA and the William J. Clinton Foundation have joined together to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to stop the nationwide increase in obesity by 2010.

For more information:

• Healthy Eating/Activity Packets 
• Indoor Activity Kit 
• Provider Packet on Pediatric Obesity 

Local/statewide Coalitions and Initiatives

Because the problem of childhood and teen overweight and obesity goes beyond individual and personal responsibility, health professionals within COAT are involved in several community-wide coalitions and initiatives that are taking steps to stop the obesity epidemic:

• King County Steps to Health is a federally funded program led by community partners and Public Health — Seattle and  King County, focusing on the areas of asthma, diabetes, obesity, nutrition, physical activity and tobacco cessation.
• King County Physical Activity Coalition supports initiatives promoting physical activity. The coalition consists of more than 15 local government agencies, schools, academic institutions, health-care organizations and other organizations.
• King County Overweight Prevention Initiative brings together a diverse group of organizations from throughout the county to make changes that promote healthier eating and more active living.
• King County Food and Fitness Initiative is working to make it easier to eat well, access locally grown food and live actively in King County. It is funded by the Kellogg Foundation.
• Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Seattle is engaged in an obesity prevention program called Start Strong, which promotes walking to school and eating breakfast.
• Washington State Department of Health works with communities, schools, employers, and health-care providers to make changes that will make it easier for us to make healthy choices in our daily lives.
• Action for Healthy Kids supports schools and communities in their efforts to be places where students can be physically active and choose healthy foods.
• National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) is an action-oriented organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care provided to children. The Childhood Obesity Action Network is a new effort focused on childhood obesity.
• UW Center for Obesity Research fosters collaborative research that integrates the biomedical, public health and policy aspects of the obesity epidemic.
• Seattle Children’s Hospital Advocacy — childhood obesity is one of the agenda items for Seattle Children’s Hospital Advocacy.