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A nationally recognized family-based healthy lifestyle program for kids and their families
Overweight and obesity in children have reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. In Maryland, nearly 30% of kids ages ten to seventeen are obese or overweight. Parents and health experts point to many possible causes, but there’s one thing they agree on: kids need a healthy diet and regular physical activity.
KidShape® is a healthy eating and physical activity program for overweight kids ages six to thirteen and their families. It emphasizes eating management, fun activities to get kids moving, and small group classes designed to support families as they make healthy lifestyle changes.
How does KidShape work?
KidShape is a twelve-month program, so participants will have support while they learn healthier habits. Classes are held every weekly for nine consecutive weeks. Quarterly support meetings will be held for the remaining nine months of the program. The next session will begin on March 4, 2010.
Kids will learn about healthy eating and activities from a team of professionals that includes a registered dietician, a licensed counselor, physical activity instructor, a registered nurse, and an educator.
Who can join?
Children must have permission from their doctor to participate. To be eligible, your child must be at the 85th percentile or greater for body weight based on height and age.
If you’d like your child to participate, call your his or her doctor or our KidShape staff.
Once accepted into KidShape, children must be accompanied to all programs by a caregiver who has responsibility for feeding and care of the child. Children do not need health insurance to be eligible for the program.
Doctors interested in referring their patients should call Carol Grove, RN, at (301) 790-8628, or e-mail her at grovec@wchsys.org. Parents or others interested in the program should call Becki Weir at (301) 790-8626, or e-mail her at bweir@wchsys.org.
This program is funded in part by a grant from Maryland Physicians Care, a managed care organization serving enrollees in Maryland’s HealthChoice program. The program is presented by Washington County Hospital.
 About KidShape®
KidShape® is a nationally registered program developed by a pediatric endocrinologist. In the last twenty years more than 10,000 children have gone through the program. Of those, 87% have lost weight and 80% who lost weight kept it off for at least two years. This weight loss is directly related to the children’s improved eating habits and increased physical activity.
Washington County Hospital’s program is the first KidShape program in Maryland.
For more information on KidShape, call 301-790-8964.
TeenShape®
The hospital has also purchased the license for a new program from KidShape®, called TeenShape®. The program is similar in content and format to the KidShape® program, but is six weeks instead of nine weeks and is geared toward kids age fourteen to eighteen.
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