• Archives

  • Sep7

    How Employers Pay for Childhood Obesity Treatment

    Posted in: Child Obesity, Obesity and Weight Loss, Wellness and Health

    Employers are going to begin being asked to pay for childhood obesity treatment. And it may be in their best interest to do so.

    The two largest health care costs for employers are employees who are “heavy users” (interestingly, the same term is used in the fast food industry for diners who eat-in 14x/week or more)…and kids.

    One-third of large employers’ beneficiaries are dependents under age 25. Kids and teens are responsible for 14.7% of a typical large employer’s health care costs.

    Obese kids have twice as many MD visits and 3x the hospitalization rate as normal weight kids. That’s where the dollars are.

    The National Business Group on Health has a Toolkit which highlights case studies, covers benefit plan construction, identifies employee education opportunities, suggests how to make the most of on-site facilities and looks at bang-for-the-buck philanthropic opportunities.

    The Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being, a coalition of Fortune 1000 employers (Gen Mills, Amex, Cardinal Health, Coca-Cola, Costco, Dell, Express Scripts, Fidelity Investments, Honeywell, IBM, J&J Ethicon, Kellogg, Kraft, Medtronic, Microsoft, among others) and representatives from Weight Watchers, the CDC, HHS and United Health, underwrote the Toolkit.

    There are many routes to success in this area.

    I hope one of the routes is showing how helping kids learn to cook with their parents improves employee productivity and lowers health care utilization…of the entire family.

    I’m working on a Santa Barbara Foodbank program–a reality TV pilot (sort of a Dr Oz meets Jamie Oliver in the Foodbank and at home)– to do just that, later next year.

    Access the toolkit free.

     

  • Dec21

    Treating Overweight Kids…With What?

    Posted in: Child Obesity, High Cholesterol, Obesity and Weight Loss

    Dr Molly Ferguson is a naturopath in Michigan who is courageous enough to discuss treating childhood obesity.
    Video: Treating Childhood Obesity

    Putting kids on a diet has long been terrifying to physicians because we are frightened about creating eating disorders (the other way!)

    But there is good data to show that the suggestions she makes: “eating the rainbow”, “eating fewer processed foods”, and “avoiding chemical additives” can have beneficial effects on kids’ health: improving immunity, increasing energy level at school, reducing hyperactivity symptoms.

    Is there a good diet for overweight kids? If there were just one, all kids would be on it.

    Childhood obesity has leveled off in kids ages 2-5, because Moms are super concerned, and have more control over what there is to eat.   The next frontier: kids ages 6-11 or 12.

    I think teaching kids about food and the basics of how to cook would transform family lives: treat Mom’s diabetes, and Dad’s cholesterol and heart disease, and Sis’ asthma.

    Eating and cooking healthfully to lose weight has worked for adults enrolled in Chef Clinic, and in adults who make big lifestyle changes.

    Should overweight kids be on a diet? And if so, what would one look like?

     

  • Nov5

    4 Kids Recipes in 25 Minutes

    Posted in: Child Obesity, Food FAQ's, Recipes

    Last month I had the privilege of demo’ing 4 kids’ recipes in 25 minutes for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara in a fantastic local kitchen and home.

    But it turned out that the adults liked the recipes and the simple kitchen tips, and thought the recipes were for them!

    Which they were.

    I loved Chef Brenda Simon‘s preparation of my Juicy Jicama Sticks with Cilantro and Lime; my Warm Stuffed Dates (or online at ChefMD.com); my Roasted Winter Vegetables with Feta, adapted from my ChefMD YouTube video; and finally Baked Kale Chips with Reggiano Parmigiano (stunning and easy: the secret is to watch them carefully at 325, and avoid burned edges).

    The theme was “Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables“. No plagiarism disputes, or sneakiness, or deceptively delicious ideas here. Everything was simple, minimally processed, and devoured.

    Cooking demonstrations are fun: not just because everyone is in the kitchen, or no one things kids’ food can be fun and flavorful, or because easy recipes too often mean unhealthful.

    But instead because people laugh–everyone has been in a kitchen, it’s a warm and friendly setting, and you learn while you eat, drink and laugh.  What could be better?

     

  • May11

    Marching Orders for Docs, Hospitals: The White House Child Obesity Report

    Posted in: Wellness and Health

    Today, the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity has released its recommendations and report. Of course, it needs a roadmap: recommendations without funding or teeth just set the agenda. But for doctors, hospitals and insurers, the assignments are clear.

    *Doctors should
    a. calculate BMI, beginning at age 2
    b. tell parents how to keep kids slim (this is worth a lot, as most MDs are frustrated and feel ineffective)
    c. prescribe, on a Rx pad, healthy active living

    *Insurance should cover assessing, preventing and treating overweight and obese kids.

    *Medical schools, associations and health care systems should train and teach pediatric obesity prevention and treatment.

    How will this work? The NCQA, which monitors quality for health care plans using a tool called HEDIS, will track rates of BMI assessment, nutrition and physical activity counseling. And payment dollars *may* follow. What a big If!

    Childhood obesity increased by 10% between 2003 and 2007. 16.4% of U.S. kids are obese and 31.6% overweight.

    The incentives have been not to write recipes on prescription slips, or prescribe free play. That takes training and time which most health providers don’t have and don’t get paid for.

    But physicians and hospitals are no different than other workers: they do more of what they are paid and trained to do. Let’s move!

     

  • Feb10

    What's Missing from Michelle's Obesity Initiative: Personal Responsibility

    Posted in: Wellness and Health

    Marion Nestle has a nice summary of coverage of Michelle Obama’s powerful announcement yesterday, with NYTimes, USA Today and Marion Burros Politico.com coverage.

    She also has a refreshing view: this is one step in the right direction, perhaps a baseball single instead of a home run.

    I think it’s closer to a double –because media, big food companies and the environmental standards are all aligned to profit from it and get a move-more message across. The White House has even held a gaming summit to look for solutions, a smart idea, which includes UCSB’s Debra Lieberman.

    Here, from the WSJ today, is the outcome of personal responsibility—for the under 5 set. Moms of infants and toddlers get it…look at the last 5 years.

    Child Obesity by Age Group

    Child Obesity by Age Group

    What’s missing? Personal responsibility. Parents setting limits, making decisions for kids not yet to adolescence, role modeling. A plant-centered diet, with a model plate. Standards that we can measure about kids other than just their weight to–not just growth charts, but health charts. What’s needed is a personal, hands-on diet approach for kids who need to be on a diet.

    For adults, it’s easier to change their environment than to change themselves, and to make it fun…almost a game. For kids, too.

    But this still starts with identifying the problem (most parents don’t know their kid is overweight), and owning it…and then laying out a diet plan that can work, with accountability and self-monitoring.

     
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