Today in the United States, there's an increasing obesity problem in
children.
In fact, as many as one in three kids has a weight problem
and one in 15 has a severe weight problem.
"By severe I mean kids that are twice or even three times the weight"
"it's considered ideal. Another way to think about this and understand severe"
"obesity is just to imagine being"
"80 or 100 pounds overweight. When a child has developed this severe"
"level of obesity, it's a really big issue that families and pediatricians"
"are trying to deal with." Doctors are seeing more kids with
very adult problems like diabetes and heart complications.
"I was 265 pounds and"
"I wasn't very healthy at all. Specialist at Cincinnati Children's want to do more
than help overweight teenagers break bad habits.
They want to offer weight loss solutions for life.
"Unfortunately, both parents and doctors alike"
"have very few ways to effectively treat weight problems,"
"particularly when it has gotten so out of control."
"So when I talk to parent groups, I really like to talk about ways to prevent"
"weight problems in the first place." Because we know that even the best
dieting attempts
and even medications may not work, in 2001 Cincinnati Children's developed the
first surgical weight loss program tailored especially for teenagers.
we help families work through what can be a life-changing decision. "I was
"the one that kinda just sat there off to the side and hoped nobody to talked to"
"me."
"And bigger I got, the more depressed"
"I got."
"I"
"didn't value life and even thought about suicide once. But I"
"decided against that." "I mean, I remember times as young as like preschool"
"where I was excluded from groups and friends and didn't get invited to birthday"
"parties and stuff like that."
"No one want to be around me. So... and the cyber bullying got"
"really bad middle school".
"And got a lot of stupid anonymous comments from people."
"Just...people"
"really tried to get to me." "I got help. As in the"
"weight loss. And that definitely- that's definitely made me"
"happy." Our medical team ranges from dietitians to psychologists,
and we work with patients every step of the way. "My part in the team is to work"
"with the teenagers"
"and their families to get them really ready for surgery. And by ready I mean"
"in the best possible health, so that when they actually have the surgery its as low"
"risk as possible. And that they really understand what they're getting"
"themselves into."
"When I was 15 I started researching different diets and things to help"
"treat'
"my insulin resistant diabetes, and came across"
"weight loss surgery and started researching it for teenagers."
"She's been a strong kid and endured a lot. She's"
"smart. She's me herself knowledgeable."
"And I had to listen to her and respect"
"what she was saying look and look in to it." "I'm glad I had the surgery because it's changed my life."
"Above all else, I want her to be healthy and"
"I want her to be happy. And if her self-esteem- if"
"she feels good physically and mentally and emotionally,"
"then she'll be successful in life. And be happy."
"That's all I want as a mom." We work with families to make that happen.
Getting teenagers safely through surgery and to a healthy weight is our ultimate
goal.
While there's no perfect treatment for pediatric obesity,
we can promise every family that we'll listen to their needs
and provide our best advice about treatment. "We look forward to the"
"opportunity to meet"
"you and to talk about modern weight loss surgical solutions"
"at Cincinnati Children's Hospital." For more, information go to Cincinnati
Children's .org
/weight
in