A pilot program on how to better counsel patients and families about childhood obesity is underway in five California-based residency programs.
Pediatric and family medicine residents are trained in strategies to help patients make behavioral changes proven to reduce and prevent obesity. For example, the program provides tips for helping individuals decrease their consumption of sugary beverages. Residents are armed with handouts on healthy beverage options and a visual aid that shows how much sugar is in a soda or sports drink.
The hope is that preparing future primary care physicians to effectively motivate lifestyle changes will help stem the prevalence rates of pediatric obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, Dr. Lydia Tinajero-Deck, the project's principal investigator, said in an interview.
The pilot, dubbed Fit for Residents, was developed by the University of California, Los Angeles, in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians, said Dr. Tinajero-Deck, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital & Research Center in Oakland, Calif.
“The actual pilot program for our residents is 1 year, with the goal of sustainability and integration” into the residency program as a permanent education piece, she said. To expand it nationwide, “We need to collect data on how the curriculum was taught within these pilot programs” to identify and promote the best practices, she added.