Obesity Education and Resources for Healthcare Providers

In alignment with the American Medical Association staged approach to care for children who are obese or overweight with co-conditions, Children’s offers several clinical services that have interdisciplinary teams with experience in childhood obesity.

Obesity Program members are also working to support primary care providers in their well-child prevention approaches and in their follow-up visits for those children who are overweight with risk factors.

Resources

Clinical services

• Child and Adolescent Wellness Clinics at Seattle Children's 
• Fit 4 You program at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (PDF)
• ACT! Actively Changing Together at Local YMCAs 
  • ACT! Referral Form (PDF)
  • ACT! Tips to Help You Start the Conversation with Families About Overweight (PDF)
•  Excel-Based Clinical Tools to Assist with Growth Charts 
• Wellness Clinics Consult and Referral Guidelines for Youth with BMI <85% (PDF)
• Resources for Sharing with Patients and Families 

From other organizations and agencies

• American Academy of Pediatrics 
• Expert Committee on the Assessment, Prevention and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity (PDF)
• AMA Guidelines 
• Childhood Obesity Action Network from the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ)
• NICHQ's Implementation Guide (PDF)
• Maternal Child Health 
• Public Health Data Watch: Youth Obesity in King County from Public Health – Seattle and King County

Materials to Assist Providers

Small Steps to Health Pediatric Obesity Toolkit

In addition to the tools and resources available through NICHQ's Children's Obesity Action Network, you may find the Obesity Program’s Small Steps to Health Pediatric Obesity Toolkit helpful in implementing the AMA recommendations.

This toolkit has been successfully used during clinic visits by several local pediatric practices and can be easily adapted to your own pediatric population.

• Small Steps to Health Posters: Photo Versions (JPG) (Spanish) (Somali) (Vietnamese)
• Small Steps to Health Posters: Icon Versions (PDF) (Spanish) (Somali) (Vietnamese) (JPG)
• Surveys on Health Messages (DOC) (Spanish) (Somali) (Vietnamese)
• Clinic Visit Encounter Form (PDF)
• My Goals Reminder: 7-5-2-1-0 (PDF)

Provider Packet on Pediatric Obesity

Together with the local chapter of the American Heart Association, our program developed a packet to assist healthcare providers in discussing healthy lifestyle concerns with patients and their families and managing obesity.

The packet includes current childhood obesity information, useful tools for promoting the message of a healthy lifestyle and copies of age-specific family educational materials. To order, call 866-987-2500, option 1, or print and fax a copy of the Healthcare Provider Materials Request Form (PDF) from the Medical Staff website.

Or you can view some of the key materials in the packet:

• AMA Expert Committee Recommendations for the Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity 
• Weight Management Educational Materials Handout (PDF) – a list of top educational materials chosen by families and providers. Contact information on how to obtain these materials is included.
• Changes for a Healthy Lifestyle: Helpful Ideas from Parents, Provider Version (PDF) (Spanish) – tips from parents on how to approach healthy lifestyle changes and specific ideas on modeling active living and preparing easy, nutritious snacks and meals.

Washington Physical Activity for the Young (WA-PLAY)

• Active Play Every Day
  • For 0-to-2-Year-Olds in Kent and Des Moines (PDF)
  • For 0-to-2-Year-Olds in Seattle (PDF)
  • For 3-to-5-Year-Olds in Kent and Des Moines (PDF)
  • For 3-to-5-Year-Olds in Seattle (PDF)

Provider Education

Obesity prevention and management is a relatively new and growing skill for providers who care for children and adolescents. The most recent medical recommendations were disseminated in 2007. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force endorsed obesity screening and treatment for the first time in 2010. Weight can be a very challenging and sensitive topic to discuss with families and children.

Children’s has presented provider trainings on obesity prevention, management and counseling since 2004 to empower and support community providers. They include Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs and events such as Grand Rounds.

We also train providers on becoming advocates in their communities to support needed changes in schools, community organizations and local policy.