Dispatches from the Physician-In-Chief

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 10 million children in this country are obese, a dramatic increase from three decades ago. In many neighborhoods, almost half of all school age children are overweight. Obesity is an epidemic that is compromising the health and well being of our youngest citizens with a rapidly rising incidence of diabetes and hypertension.

More than 80 percent of overweight teenagers become overweight adults, and this warns of a marked increase in stroke, heart disease and cancer as these individuals reach adulthood. The psychosocial consequences of childhood obesity are devastating and include poor self esteem, anxiety, depression and social isolation.

While pediatricians are humbled by the challenge of treating overweight children, solutions are within our grasp. The necessary changes in dietary and lifestyle habits to prevent obesity are well understood and agreed upon by experts in the field. The problem is the lack of any comprehensive strategy to implement change, and this is where Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt comes in.

Vanderbilt Children’s Health Improvement and Prevention is a unique Children’s Hospital initiative to improve the lives of children. Focused on educating children and parents to ensure that all children have a positive start in life, this program addresses leading health issues affecting children including obesity. To ready more about this initiative, click here.

A unique partnership between our hospital and Nashville Parks and Recreation is a new family-centered, community-based network focusing on childhood obesity. Learn more here.

The keyword here is family-centered. A recent study by researchers at our hospital shows that the influence of family members (familia) on overweight Latino childrens’ activity levels is especially strong. Get more information about the study by clicking here.

Eating and activity behaviors are set during early childhood and influenced by education and environmental circumstances. Working with parents and other family members to promote a healthful lifestyle can make a profound lifetime difference for a child and we are empowering families to effect these changes.

What we are doing at Children’s Hospital is taking what we know and reaching out to our community to make a difference. That is what we are about, and I know our friend Monroe Carell would be proud.