November 2005

Clinic to Help Fight Childhood Obesity
By Jennifer Osborn
Courtesy of The Ellsworth American

ELLSWORTH — Maine Coast Pediatrics is leading the state in addressing the issue of childhood obesity by starting a Healthy Weight Clinic for children.

The Maine Medical Center in Portland is developing a specialty clinic for overweight children but it has not opened yet, according to Dr. Jonathan Fanburg, who organized the local clinic.

The problem of overweight children is growing.

According to the American Obesity Association, 30 percent of children ages six to 19 are overweight.

The number of children who are overweight has doubled in the last two to three decades, according to the National Institute of Health.

Maine Coast Pediatrics, a part of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, started its Healthy Weight Clinic to help children struggling with weight issues.

“We didn’t know what to do with heavy kids,” Fanburg said. “Heavy kids turn out to be heavy adults many times.”

The clinic has a dietician and a counselor to work with the children.

“We work with them on what they want to work on,” Fanburg said.

Treating weight issues in comparison with other medical problems can be challenging for physicians, according to Fanburg.

Usually, doctors tell patients how to get better and expect them to do it, Fanburg said.

“That doesn’t work with weight issues,” he said.

The weight clinic also offers group therapy. Fanburg, who is board-certified in adolescent medicine, said group therapy can be helpful for teenagers, who often listen to their peers more than adults.

The goal for the children enrolled in the Healthy Weight Clinic is not to lose weight, but rather to maintain it.

“We’re at a strong advantage because most of these kids are going to get taller,” said Fanburg.

The clinic is trying to make the process fun for children and take away the “stigma” of weight issues, Fanburg said.

A newfangled gadget called a dance pad, where children try to win points by following dance steps, is brought out into the lobby on weight clinic days.

Some children are getting pedometers to use.

All participants are adopting a “5.2.1.0” program, from the Maine Center for Public Health.

The numbers stand for five fruits and vegetables daily, less than two hours of television or computer time, at least one hour of exercise and zero juice or sugary drinks, Fanburg said.

To help kids keep track, the clinic dispenses colorful rubber bracelets that a child will move from one wrist to the other as they consume fruits and vegetables during the day.

The program has to be simple for children, Fanburg said.

“They’re not going to calorie count,” he said.

Goals for the future include having an athletic trainer work with the children.