Helping Your Child Thrive: Our Wellness Care Approach
Definition:
● Comprehensive Obesity Care as outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics focuses on intensive, family-centered support that promotes lasting behavior change. This includes lifestyle interventions such as nutrition counseling, physical activity, sleep improvement and emotional well-being support.
● This toolkit was created to support both providers and families in making evidence-based, lifestyle-focused care more accessible. It offers practical tools, visual resources and wellness strategies that can be used during clinic visits or at home to support healthier habits, especially in time- and resource-limited settings.
Goal of Care:
● At the Healthy Lifestyles Clinic, our goal is to reduce the long-term risks associated with excess weight by helping children and families build sustainable, healthy habits. In some cases, medications may be considered as part of treatment, based on individual needs and clinical judgment. This may include:
○ Providing consistent, long-term support within the child’ s medical home
○ Assessing for health conditions and emotional challenges that may be related to weight
○ Recognizing how social, environmental and economic factors impact a child’ s health
○ Ensuring care is respectful, compassionate and free of weight stigma
○ Using motivational interviewing to support behavior change and self-confidence
○ Offering individualized care plans that may include lifestyle support and, when appropriate, medication
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