• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Pushing Healthy Choices ; Program Hopes to Teach Teens About Good Nutrition

Posted on: Friday, 31 December 2004, 03:00 CST

The colorful plastic food models spread over the table look good enough to eat. There is a pile of mashed potatoes with gravy. An ear of corn. A handful of baby carrots. A stack of graham crackers.

Megan Creehan, a registered dietitian at VCU Medical Center, is using the plastic food models to teach Anthony Martin, 15, what normal portion sizes look like.

"If this is your salad dressing, how many tablespoons are a serving?" she asks Martin, holding out a tablespoon. Since May, Martin has been enrolled in a weight-loss program at VCU.

"Four?" he answers.

Wishful thinking maybe. Try half that.

Two, says his grandmother Bethel Martin, correcting him from the sidelines.

His wrong answer that one time does not reflect his progress since enrolling in the program. He has gone from 243 pounds to about 221. His goal, he said, is in the 190-pound range.

"I think he is more confident with himself," his grandmother said. "He was so used to the kids calling him 'fat boy.' He doesn't mind getting up in front of people now."

Anthony Martin likes the advantage the weight loss has given him in sports.

"I can do more stuff that I usually could not do. I can play football longer. I am wrestling this year. I have more endurance," said Martin, a ninth-grader at Huguenot High School.

They are the sort of changes that get the attention of Janet Delorme, program coordinator for the VCU TEENS Weight Management program, and the other VCU researchers involved. TEENS stands for teaching, encouragement, exercise, nutrition and support.

With America's youngsters taking on the same weight problems as adults, researchers are looking at how best to get children to pursue healthier eating habits and exercise behaviors. The VCU program, stated in November 2003, is one of many efforts around the country taking a clinical-research approach to working with overweight children and their families.

The bottom line is not much different -- eat healthier and exercise more -- but because children have different nutritional and emotional needs than adults, researchers want to document what works best for them.

The VCU program takes a multifaceted approach to weight loss. The participants spend a significant amount of time learning about the benefits of good nutrition and regular exercise. Participants meet in groups or individually with nutritionists, psychologists, exercise specialists and physicians and undergo a battery of tests and evaluations throughout the study period. They are asked to exercise at least three times a week, and a parent or other adult must commit to getting the child to appointments and to making changes at home that promote the child's success. One of their exercise sessions must be during a weekly meeting at VCU. The program requires a significant commitment, and not all who started have continued.

Yvette Carter drives from Petersburg to get son Melvin "Tres" Carter, 12, to meetings. He has done really well since enrolling, she said, losing about 25 pounds. The program, she said, is having an impact on their entire family.

"I've basically cut out all sugar," Carter said. "I changed how I cooked foods. We have more fresh fruit and vegetable choices. I cut out buying junk food."

Melvin, she said, was already pretty active, bowling and playing baseball, but has upped the exercise even more. Where he used to walk the dog, he has now turned that into a run, she said. He also bikes regularly.

Karen Turner's son Keeron Turner, 13, is also enrolled and so far has lost about 15 pounds. Like Martin and Carter, who enrolled after doctors told them they were showing signs of pre-diabetes, a health concern also drove the Turner family interest in the program.

"His primary-care physician recommended the program due to his rapid weight gain," Karen Turner said. "He probably gained 60 pounds in a year. None of his eating habits changed. He is not diabetic. They decided he needed to go with something to manage the weight gain.

"He enjoys the program. He really wants to come," she said.

Since last November, more than 50 children and teenagers have started the program, which will track their progress over two years. Last summer, about midway through recruitment, 85 percent of the participants enrolled so far were black, and about 65 percent were female -- factors that may be a reflection of Richmond's demographics. Some national statistics indicate that black girls are more likely to be overweight than white girls.

The program also takes into account cultural differences in regard to food preferences and attitudes about weight and body image. For instance, in some ethnic communities, stick-thin bodies are considered unhealthy and an indication of illness, while plumper bodies are viewed as healthier.

Olivia Ames, an Albert H. Hill Middle School student, can refute that firsthand. Since enrolling in the program, she has lost enough weight to be able to buy smaller-sized jeans, which she feels good about. She also can go biking with her dad, Pierre Ames, and not get tired before he does.

"I feel really good about it," she said of the weight loss. "My clothes have been sagging."

Food preferences, the families note, can change. Some traditionally Southern foods such as fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy are Sunday-dinner favorites. Cooks earn a reputation based on how well they prepare these dishes.

Bethel Martin's macaroni and cheese and potato-and-cheese casserole dishes are a case in point. They are two of her grandson's favorites, she said. Family members drive from across town when they know she is cooking them. She does not cook them as often now.

"I changed my whole cooking routine years ago when [Anthony] first started to gain weight," she said.

"He has been eating baked foods for a while." The program has helped, she said, so that now it's not just her telling him what to eat or what not to eat. Now, she said, he is making better food choices on his own.

Even the holidays, he said, are not a problem.

"I can control myself," Martin said.

For more

For information on the TEENS Weight Management program, call (804) 827-0661 or e-mail jdelorme@vcu.edu. The program office is closed through Monday.

*www.vcu.edu/pediatrics/research/obesity.html

Source: Richmond Times - Dispatch

More News in this Category