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PROGRAM
OVERVIEW
Family-Based Weight
Management
Bay Area Committed
to Kids is an outpatient,
family-based weight-management
program that uses a
multidisciplinary approach
involving a pediatrician,
behavioral counseling, nutrition
education, and
exercise.
We offer both
individual and group
sessions.Upon completion of the
initial evaluation, the medical
practitioner, behavioral
specialist and family will
together determine whether
individual or group sessions
would be a good fit.
Some families
prefer to see the same specialist
for individual visits, and others
have a visit with each of the
specialists as needed. Those who
choose to attend group sessions
may elect to include several
individual visits with any of our
specialists as needed, while
primarily attneding group
sessions.
Each family will initially be
seen and evaluated by the medical
practitioner. This will
include a comprehensive medical
history, nutrition and activity
history, psychosocial assessment,
physical examination, and
appropriate medical test. This
may take several visits.
Group
Sessions/Involving the
Family
- Groups are often
age-specific, (age 7-10, 11-14
and 15-18) and two hours in
length, consisting of between
4-12 families.
- Each group session will
begin with an hour of fitness
for the entire family.
- The
following hour will focus on
one area of nutrition,
fitness, or behavioral change
each week. This will be an
interactive, age-appropriate
hour led by a health
professional who will be
facilitating discussion among
the group members while
providing education specific
to the focus area of that
week.Children and parents are
often separated for part of
the hour for respective
activities.
- Children
and families will learn about
behavior modification
techniques that will help them
make healthier lifestyle
choices. Families will be able
to see what they do that’s
unhealthy, understand why you
do these things, and learn how
to do other, healthier things
instead.
- The
parent and child will decide
upon individual goals for the
week at each session. As you
have read and will continue to
hear, small, achievable, and
gradual changes will be
emphasized.
- Families are encouraged to
attend every session, and at
least one parent or guardian
must agree to attend each
weekly session with their
child.
- Individual visits with the
pediatrician, dietitian,
behavioral specialist, and
exercise physiologist are
encouraged and available as
needed for group
participants.
Stretching,
Calisthenics, and More
Activities
for Fun Fitness
- The
exercise component of the
program will help you change
your family's physical
activity habits so it’s
easier to move around and
play.
- We help
you identify and then modify
your current activity
patterns. Barriers to
participating in physical
activity are addressed, and as
with nutrition, we help you
make small, achievable and
gradual changes in your
activity patterns.
- We will
also look closely at sedentary
behaviors, especially screen
time, and help you identify
how to reduce sedentary
behaviors. We have found
that at least one-third of the
time previously spent in a
sedentary behavior is used for
physical activity.
- Each
group session will begin with
60 minutes of physical
activity led by a fitness
specialist. Stretching,
calisthenics, dance, games,
and other fun fitness
activities will be emphasized
that will introduce you to
activities you can then do at
home as a famiy. The fitness
regimen will be structured to
vary individually with each
participant’s physical
condition.
We focus on
creating a fitness plan for each
child and family that is fun and
something you will continue
throughout your life. We
are often asked which is the “best
exercise to do”. The
answer is “ the one you
will”.
Healthy and Balanced
Eating Habits
- An important goal of BACTK
is to help children and
families learn how to make
informed, healthy food choices
in today's world. How to eat
regular meals and snacks, how
to choose foods that are rich
in nutrients but relatively
low in calories, and how to
save those very tempting,
high-calorie, low-nutrient
foods as treats for special
occasions will be discussed.
There are no “forbidden
foods” or rigid menus to
follow, so your child never
has to feel deprived.
- We help you identify and
then modify current behaviors
and situations by starting
with small, achievable and
gradual changes. When
these changes are in place,
further changes and
modifications follow.
Reinforcing healthy
changes
- For families that choose
to attend group sessions, we
encourage a minimum of 12
weekly sessions. Many of
our families choose to attend
weekly for as long as a
year. We will have
periodic evaluations, and
discussion between the family
and the providers will help
you design a program that best
fits your family's needs and
schedule. We are committed to
customizing our program to fit
what your family needs.
- Once a family has
completed weekly group
sessions, they're encouraged
to participate in a
maintenance program to
reinforce the healthy
lifestyle habits they have
developed. We recommend
follow-up visits over the
course of the next six
months.Thereafter, biannual or
annual visits are encouraged
for lifetime maintenance of a
healthy lifestyle.
- Additional group sessions
are always available to all
families as desired. These
groups will reinforce previous
knowledge and application as
well as expand further the
issues and situations
discussed in the first group
sessions, such as dealing with
holidays, vacations, parties,
and other special
occasions.
Your
Commitment
- You are giving your child
a “gift” that will
change their lives forever.
You are nourishing a lifetime
of healthy eating and activity
habits that will add many more
healthy years to their
lives.
- Regular attendance at
weekly sessions by both
parents and children is
critical for success in this
program.
- Each week, children and
parents will be asked to set
an eating and activity goal
that is both practical and
attainable. Establishing new
goals or reassessing old ones
helps you and your child
assess how you are doing, what
you think about the program,
and how you feel about your
progress.
Measures of Success
- normalization of medical
risk factors (blood pressure,
lipids, glucose, improved
asthma)
- improved self-esteem
- improved fitness and
exercise patterns
- improved eating
habits
- improved parent-child
feeding relationship
- improved body image and
understanding of individual
differences in body
sizes/shapes
- improved ability to
communicate and deal with
feelings, teasing, social and
peer pressure.
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