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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Julie L. Vanier, MA, Pediatrics: Nutrition and Fitness for Life Program, Boston Medical Center, One Boston Medical Center Place, ACC 4S-11, Boston, MA 02118-2393, 617-414-6879, julie.vanier@bmc.org

Currently, an epidemic of overweight and its negative health consequences are affecting American youth with a disproportionate impact on youth of color. At the Boston Medical Center, which predominantly serves low income communities of color, 45 % of the pediatric patients are above a healthy weight. Effective community-based responses to overweight must build upon the strengths of affected communities.The FANtastic Kids (Fitness and Nutrition) model engages teen leaders as educators in four community health centers to implement a nutrition and physical activity intervention for pediatric overweight in their own community. FANtastic Kids supports and trains peer leaders in implementing a 10-week intervention using a participatory learning approach. The intervention is targeted at children ages 8-11 who are at risk for overweight or overweight (BMI=>85%tile). This model involves primary care providers, nutritionists and health center staff collaborating to support program participants and their families in reaching and maintaining healthy weights. The program goals are: To support youth in developing healthy lifestyles by incorporating healthy eating and increased physical activity into their daily routines, empower families to make healthier choices through experiential learning, to develop the leadership capacity of local teens to promote healthier lifestyles, and to strengthen the capacity of communities to support increased physical activity opportunities and improved nutrition. We will describe the FANtastic Kids intervention, highlighting successes, challenges and best practices. Preliminary results from this community health center based intervention will be discussed. FANtastic Kids is an innovative approach to community-based pediatric overweight intervention.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Describe the Fantastic Kids community health center based pediatric overweight intervention model.
• 2.Identify community stakeholders whose buy-in is important for success in community-based overweight treatment interventions.
• 3.Recognize how teen leader/facilitator approaches can be successful in improving middle-school-age participants’ knowledge, attitude and behaviors concerning nutrition and physical activity.

Keywords: Obesity, Peer Counselors

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 11391.0 kb)