Obesity Clinic Helps Children, Teens Control Weight

For 17-year-old Neltoia Brooks, being labeled obese has had a lasting effect.

"I’ve been obese all my life. It doesn’t offend me – sometimes you just have to learn how to deal with things," Brooks said.

In addition to being obese, Brooks suffers from type II diabetes.

Instead of struggling with feelings for those who call her obese, Brooks decided to take action. She is one of many adolescents seeking help and guidance through the obesity clinic at the Harris County Hospital District’s Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital.

"The obesity clinic was brought about by a survey that we conducted with the school nurses in the community," said Carol Moore, clinic coordinator. "We found that we had a lot of children who had hypertension and obesity based on their economic standards."

The U.S. Surgeon General reports that overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults and this increases to 80 percent if one or more parents is overweight or obese.

The obesity clinic, part of LBJ’s general pediatric program, serves patients ages 9 to 18 who are obese and need counseling in nutrition, physical activity, and other psychological areas. Each patient is provided with a medical evaluation which identifies their cause of obesity and evaluates any complications arising from their condition.

To determine if children and adolescents are overweight, doctors use the Center for Disease Control’s Body Mass Index based on weight and height.

Staff members encourage patients and their families to view the program as a life-long process – not just another weight loss program.

"I started coming to the endocrinology clinic two years ago, then to the adolescent clinic, and since last November, the obesity clinic," Brooks said.

A certified dietician presents both patients and parents with an individualized program for the patient based on age, level of activity and availability. A physical activity program is provided by a physical therapist, and a social worker helps with psychosocial problems.

"When the children come to school, the nurses interact with the parents and when they see that a child is obese, they make a referral," Moore said. "This clinic is available to parents to bring their child in to be screened. In our diverse society, dietary patterns can be very different. People eat what they can afford to buy, so we try to teach good nutritional habits, no matter what their budget, so that the children can develop good eating patterns at an early age."

Patients work on strengthening self-esteem and motivating themselves to reach their weight-loss goal.

Social worker Betty Toney believes a successful outcome requires a lot of motivation.

"We do whatever we can to make the children feel good about themselves," she said.

Most obese adolescents suffer from other diseases like sleep apnea, diabetes, and hypertension. As a result, large numbers of obese teens seek further medical support to help them live a healthy life.

Moore says that instead of being intimidated by the obesity clinic, most children are ecstatic to find a safe haven.

For more information about the Harris County Hospital District Obesity Clinic, contact Dr. Mona Eissa or Carol Moore at (713) 566-5656.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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