The Record Special Sections Health Quarterly 07-26-2020 | Page 2

2 | SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2020 | THE RECORD
HEALTH QUARTERLY / ADVERTISING SECTION
Healthy LifeWays: Valley’s Center
For Pediatric Wellness and Weight Management
Children and Teens Develop Healthy Eating Habits
The statistics are disturbing:
Just under 20 percent of children,
adolescents and teens are classified
as obese. And that percentage is
on the rise.
This puts children
and teens at risk for
problems that were
once diagnosed almost
exclusively in adults,
such as type 2 diabetes,
high blood pressure,
heart disease, and high
cholesterol.
Healthy LifeWays: Valley’s Center
for Pediatric Wellness and Weight
Management provides a comprehensive
program of medical and behavioral health
care, nutrition services, and family support
to help overweight and obese children
and teenagers lose weight, improve their
health, and reduce their risk of developing
chronic illnesses.
As founder and director of Healthy
LifeWays, pediatrician and obesity expert
Dr. Sherry Sakowitz-Sukkar takes a familyoriented
approach. During a 12-week
program, she advises families to focus on
healthy living. “If a parent is nervous about
a child’s weight, say, ‘We’re going to start
eating healthier in the house.’ Don’t direct
it toward the child. Everyone in the house
should be living the same healthy lifestyle,”
she says.
This year, Dr. Sakowitz-Sukkar acquired
a high-tech new tool to help motivate her
young patients. The Styku 3D Body Scanner
performs a body scan in seconds that can
show the changes in someone’s body shape
and dimensions as their body responds to
fitness and nutritional guidance.
“My patients love it. It is a very effective
motivational tool,” Dr. Sakowitz-Sukkar says.
She emphasizes that the focus of her
program is not on dieting. “You should
have rules about being a healthy household,
not a dieting household,” she says.
”My goals are for my patients to be
healthy, feel good about themselves, and
develop healthy habits. I teach them to look
at food differently with a focus on quality,
not quantity.”
Healthy Lifeways is designed for children
and young adults classified as obese,
meaning that they have a body mass index
at or above the 95 th percentile. Children
who are at or above the 85 th percentile
and also have an associated medical risk
or family history of chronic disease, such
as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension,
or obstructive sleep apnea, can also join
Healthy LifeWays.
“By personalizing our program to fit
the needs of each individual child and
family, we aim to help each child attain
weight-loss success and reduce the risk of
serious chronic diseases, such as diabetes,
heart disease, hypertension, and accompanying
psychosocial disorders, including
depression, stress and bullying,” says Dr.
Sakowitz-Sukkar. “The time to stop obesity
is before a teenager reaches adulthood
because almost all chronic diseases are
associated with obesity, and they often
begin in childhood.”
Healthy LifeWays is located in Valley’s
state-of-the-art medical office at 140 East
Ridgewood Avenue in Paramus. To make
an appointment with Dr. Sakowitz-Sukkar,
or for more information about Healthy
LifeWays, call 201-316-8438.
PHOTO COURTESY OF VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM
Pediatrician and obesity expert Dr. Sherry Sakowitz-Sukkar, has acquired a
high-tech new tool to help motivate her young patients. The Styku 3D Body Scanner
performs a body scan in seconds that can show the changes in someone’s body shape
and dimensions as their body responds to fitness and nutritional guidance.
‘Exercise Is Medicine’ at Valley Health LifeStyles Fitness Center
Physical inactivity is a fast-growing
public health problem and contributes
to a variety of chronic diseases
and health complications, including
obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
In addition to improving an individual’s
overall health, increasing physical activity
has proven effective in the treatment and
prevention of chronic diseases.
Exercise is Medicine®, a global health
initiative managed by the American College
of Sports Medicine, encourages primary
care physicians and other healthcare providers
to include physical activity when
designing treatment plans and to refer
patients to evidence-based exercise programs
and qualified exercise professionals.
“At the Valley Health LifeStyles fitness
center, members can receive an Exercise
Readiness Consultation, comprehensive
Physical Fitness Assessment, and of course
a Personalized Exercise Prescription in a
safe and trusted exercise facility,” said Don
Tomaszewski, director of Medical Fitness at
Valley Health LifeStyles.
Research confirms that performing
moderate-intensity physical activity on
a regular basis can help people live longer
and can help reduce health problems at
any age.
“In fact,” says Tomaszewski, “people who
exercise have an easier time keeping blood
pressure and cholesterol levels under control
and maintaining a healthy body weight.”
Exercise also strengthens the muscles
and bones, reducing the risk of osteoporosis
and everyday injury, and may even lower
the risk of many diseases, including diabetes,
stroke, heart disease and some cancers.
Regular physical activity improves sleep,
increases energy, lowers stress levels and
helps maintain independence.
“As we all age, the key to maximizing
the benefits of exercise is to follow a welldesigned
program that you can stick with
PHOTO COURTESY OF VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEM
Valley Health LifeStyles member
Austin Murphy.
over the long-term,” Tomaszewski said.
“It is never too late to improve your health
and well-being with a lifestyle of regular
physical activity.”
Valley Health LifeStyles, is a world-class
fitness center designed to help members
maintain the healthy lifestyle that’s right
for them. LifeStyles fitness center includes:
medical oversight; six-lane lap pool, warmwater
therapy pool and saunas; performance
testing and functional training and
walking/running track; rock climbing wall;
group exercise classes; and state-of-the-art
fitness equipment.
Due to state regulations regarding the
coronavirus pandemic, LifeStyles is currently
closed, but is open for individual personal
training and offers at-home exercise
classes online at ValleyHealthLiferStyles.
com. Additional services will open as regulations
allow.
Valley Health LifeStyles is located at
1400 MacArthur Blvd. in Mahwah. For more
information, call 201-389-0839 or visit
ValleyHealthLifeStyles.com.