Preventing Childhood Obesity in Our Community

Packard Pediatric Weight Control Program participants Austen, Stuart and Yves

Physically fit children generally have better memory, concentration, and energy levels.  They tend to be healthier emotionally and carry their healthy lifestyle into adulthood.  Today, the children in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties fare marginally better than the California state averages in physical fitness and childhood overweight and obesity rates; however, the overweight and obesity rates are three to four times higher than they were in the 1970s.  Thankfully, the 30-year trend of increasing obesity rates may be leveling off.  Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital's Community Benefits and outreach function has combined our medical expertise with many community partners to provide obesity prevention initiatives, particularly in communities proven to be most vulnerable to becoming overweight and underfit. 

Packard Children's Programs and Partners in Preventing Obesity 

Packard Children's Pediatric Weight Control Program
The Packard Children's Pediatric Weight Control Program is a family-based, behavioral and educational program designed to promote healthy eating and exercise habits for overweight children and their families.  The program is offered at Packard Children’s Hospital and in the community.  Because insurance plans do not yet reimburse for weight management programs, financial aid is available for low-income families.
 
Silicon Valley Youth Health Literacy Collaborative
In a three-year collaboration with El Camino Hospital in Mountain View and HealthTeacher, Inc., all Santa Clara County schools are offered an online health education program for kindergarten through 12th grade students.  Currently, all 20 districts have schools that are using HealthTeacher's health promotion, disease prevention, social and emotional wellness, and safety curricula to address the growing issues affecting the health status of young people.
 
Leadership in Community Collaboratives Addressing Obesity Prevention
Packard Children's continues to lead and participate in three community collaboratives working to create environments that encourage healthier lifestyles and prevent obesity:

• Get Healthy San Mateo County Task Force
• Bay Area Nutition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC)
• Coordinated School Health Advisory Council, Santa Clara County Office of Education
• Focus on a Fitter Future Initiative, National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) 

 
SafeKids Coalition
Packard Children's, the lead agency for the SafeKids Coalition of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, teaches families about child injury risks and prevention, encourages and conducts research on leading injury risks, evaluates solutions for injury risks, works to pass and improve child safety laws and regulations, provides lifesaving devices such as child safety seats, bike helmets and smoke alarms, and promotes corporate leadership in child safety through effective and sustainable partnerships.  Safe Kids USA is a nationwide network of organizations working to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability for children ages 1 - 14.  
 
Child Safety Outreach Program
Packard Children's operates a free, permanent child passenger safety seat fitting station that provides a certified technician to teach and assist parents on correct installation of their children's car seat. 
 
Perinatal, Parenting and Community Health Education Programs
Packard Children's provides health education programs at the hospital and in community locations.  Class topics range from before and after-the-birth classes, including childbirth preparation and infant CPR, to our popular "Heart to Heart" program for preteens and their parents as well as evening lectures about child health issues such as sleep disorders.   Many of our lectures are recorded and available for online viewing or podcast through Stanford University iTunes.
 
Education Programs for Patients
Providing substantial educational resources to patients and their families is included in supporting our family-centered care mission.  In an attempt to normalize the life of hospitalized children, all patients attend our Hospital School, operated by the Palo Alto and Mountain View-Los Altos school districts.  Additionally, upon patient discharge, our Hospital Educational Advocacy Liaison (HEAL) program helps medically fragile children return to their hometown schools by educating teachers, parents, and child peers about the unique cognitive, social, and emotional needs of our patients. 


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More information about our other community benefits and outreach priority areas and programs, 2011 Community Benefits Report with financial valuation, and 2012 Plan for Community Services can be found here.