Nowadays, it is not shocking news to hear about a four year old child weighing more than 100 pounds. Nor is it shocking news that we are seeing adult onset diabetes among adolescents and young teens. Instead, the attention grabbing news is Atkins, South Beach, Zone, and gastric bypass. Our nation has accepted the fact that the average weight of Americans has increased, and are now obsessed with how to reduce that weight. But are we doing this the right way?

There is no magic cure for obesity. The only way is to prevent it, by leading a healthy lifestyle. In order to do so, we have to start early, and maintain lifelong habits of healthy living. Without a doubt, parents and caregivers have a tremendous impact on their children’s eating behavior and physical activity. Unfortunately, many of us lack the knowledge of basic nutrition, which is not readily available in this fast paced age of television commercials, fast foods, computers and video games. Reading food labels and choosing which foods to buy can be as complicated and difficult as brain surgery.

Recognizing that it is always easier, and more cost effective, to prevent than to treat obesity, various agencies and organizations in our community have started prevention projects, which focus on teaching parents and caregivers how to establish healthy eating habits and increased physical activity for their children and themselves.

The Health Services Agency started the “Fit Kids” pilot project two years ago. The target population for this program is children between the ages of 4-8 years. We provide classes to the parents and caregivers, involving the whole family with at least one child who is at risk of becoming overweight. Classes are provided once a month, in both English and Spanish. Classes are taught using “Family Centered Education” techniques, which involve both verbal education and "hands-on" activities. Topics include healthy snacks, physical activity, keeping food records, etc Approximately, 100 English families and 180 Spanish families had participated in this project. So far, referrals are only being accepted from the Agency’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, and from the HSA clinics and providers.

Similarly, the West Modesto King Kennedy Neighborhood Collaborative started the “Kids Off the Couch” Project two years ago, with funding from the Prop 10 Commission. The target population is children from 0 to the age of five, who live in the west Modesto neighborhood. They provide classes to parents and caregivers on a bi-weekly basis. Activities, aside from the normal nutrition and physical activity education sessions, also include cooking demonstrations and field trips for parents and children to the supermarket, farmers market, library, and the YMCA.

Both of these programs have received rave reviews from the participants, who are mostly mothers and grandmothers. They attend the classes not just to learn, but also to socialize, share, and give support to each other. The importance of social support cannot be underscored when a person is ready to make and maintain any behavioral changes. One also has to remember that prevention programs are only successful when they are continuous and long term. The Fit Kids Program provides xx sessions of classes, while Kids Off the Couch is a yearlong program. As one parent commented, “ We eat, go places, it’s too much fun, and you feel good when you leave.”