PC1149: Midtown Move: Creation of a Structured Pediatric Obesity Program in Detroit, MI

Background: Childhood Obesity has increased to epidemic proportions, affecting families in both urban and non-urban settings. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, one-sixth of children between 6-19 years of age are classified as obese. In Michigan alone, 1 in 3 children, between the ages 10-17, are overweight or obese. To help combat these staggering numbers, Children's Hospital of Michigan General Pediatric/ Adolescent Medicine Division (GPAM) has a once weekly Metabolic Clinic where children with a BMI >90th percentile are referred for nutrition counseling. Despite this, many children and families have difficulty applying the counseling they receive to their everyday lives and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in a food insecure city. As a result of these barriers GPAM requested grant funding from the CHM Foundation to help strengthen the metabolic clinic by creating a comprehensive program, known as Midtown Move. The program helps provide structured counseling sessions and materials to promote exercise and provide education on healthier food options for our patients, many of which are urban families with lower socioeconomic status.

Methods: Families who were referred to the GPAM metabolic clinic were invited to participate in the comprehensive Midtown Move program. The program consisted of an initial in person visit, monthly telemedicine check ins, and a visit with lab work every 3 months. Families who agreed were given a 40 page educational manual which provided information on type 2 diabetes mellitus, how to read food labels, how to portion foods, calorie counts of certain foods, and sample daily meal plans. They were also given an exercise bag with exercise equipment. Families were asked to complete a pre- and post-survey to determine how much they’ve learned. Patients weight, BMI, and HbA1c were also measured at each in-person visit.

Results: Preliminary results have shown a vast improvement in knowledge by the parents after just the first visit. Anecdotally, patients and their parents who are enrolled are more committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and have less missed appointments than the patients seen in metabolic clinic who are not enrolled. Lab results and changes in measurements have not been calculated yet.

Conclusion: While still early in the program there has been anecdotal evidence that providing families with supplies and structured education is more beneficial than traditional counseling. Patients and their families are more engaged and motivated to make long lasting lifestyle modifications. We hope to be able to quantify this difference by comparing data to patients not enrolled in the program. We also plan to get feedback from enrolled families and hope to expand the program to others in the community.