Addressing Childhood Obesity
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC
Executive Director: AllCEUs Counselor Education
Host: Counselor Toolbox Podcast
CEUs are available at allceus.com and Australia.allceus.com
Objectives
– Learn about the effects of obesity on health
– Identify best practices for addressing obesity in childhood
Clinician Functions
– Engage
– Children
– Caregivers
– Communities (task forces, county commission committees)
– Assess
– Risk factors
– Barriers
– Motivations
– Set SMART Goals at the individual, family and community level
Clinician Functions
– Implementation of goals
– Monitoring
– Risk factors
– Protective factors
– Evaluation
– Engagement
– Goal achievement
Why do We Care- Impact of Obesity
– Physical Health
– Increased risk of becoming an adult with obesity
– Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance
– Type 2 Diabetes
– Multiple cancers
– High blood pressure
– High cholesterol
– Adult heart disease
– Low testosterone (males)
– Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
– Endometriosis
– Asthma
– Sleep apnea
– Joint problems
– Gastric Reflux
– Non-Alcoholic Hepatitis
– Back pain
– Mental Health
– Anxiety and depression
– Low self-esteem
– Lower perceived quality of life
– Being bullied
– Stigma
– Discrimination
Assess
– Use established guidelines to routinely assess children’s
– Health literacy
– Nutrition
– Sleep
– Physical activity/Sedentary behavior
– Mental Health
– Coping Skills
– Self-Esteem
– Pediatrician, school counselor/social worker, school nurse/health teacher, preschool teacher, caregiver
Assess
– Assess the risk factors in the environment
– Parenting/primary caregiver influences
– Conditions that promote sedentary or less active lifestyles—Reliance on cars, increased time watching t.v. or on computers
– Time and financial constraints that can adversely affect caregivers’ ability to provide healthy food options
– Overconsumption of high-fat, high-calorie foods
– Biology and genetics
– Breastfeeding for less than 6 months
– Lack of sufficient sleep
Assess
– Assess the risk factors in the environment
– Parenting/primary caregiver influences
– Caregiver mental illness, especially depression
– Lack of modeling positive nutrition and movement
– Lack of knowledge about nutrition or cooking
– Coercive clean your plate rules
– Mindless eating (with television on etc.)
– Over-normalizing growth-related weight gain
– Caffeine consumption during pregnancy
Assess
– Assess the risk factors
– Individual influences
– Rewarded behaviors
– How can good nutrition be made rewarding: Cooking tasty foods, making palatable snacks available
– How can exercise be made rewarding: Play with the dog, parks, trampolines
– Interests
– Geocaching, Pokémon go, martial arts, X-box/wii etc.
– Unsupervised time
– Peer values
Assess
– Assess the risk factors
– Individual influences
– Health
– Genetics
– Hypothyroid
– Diabetes
– Yo-yo dieting
– 80%