Needham Girl Has Recipe for Success

She and parents join area's most unique pediatric weight management program

By Heather Kempskie

 
First in a series of articles on achieving healthier lifestyles via a unique pediatric weight management program offered at Great Moves! in Newton. Next month: 5 Ways to Jumpstart a Healthier Lifestyle for Your Family.

Nine-year-old Emily Braunstein of Needham wants to be a chef. But she's not the type of girl that follows a set recipe. She airs on the side of experimental. Some of her past creations have included hot dog omelets and French Toast that she now says "had way too much sugar." Today she's in the mood to create something on the healthier side.

 

She buzzes from the freezer to the blender, mixing strawberries, blueberries, some honey, a drop of vanilla and Soymilk and promptly delivers a few glasses of self-proclaimed "Emilicious" smoothies to her parents Anne and Rob.

 

The three sip on their fruity drinks at what you could consider their home away from home - at least for the next six months. The Braunsteins are one of six families that have enrolled in the area's most unique pediatric weight management program held at the new Newton-based Great Moves! center.

 

"We offer a multidisciplinary approach which allows us to come
at weight management from so many different angles - from nutrition, to physical activity to behavior changes," says Suzanne Rostler, MS, RD, clinical director of Great Moves!. "All the efforts are focused on the success of the child and the program includes group and individual consults with experts in the field."

 

To qualify for Great Moves! children must have a BMI (body mass index) at or above the 85th percentile (see sidebar). But the more impressive requirement is that the parents must also attend regular sessions. While kids learn ways to decipher between real hunger and emotional hunger, parents are learning how to set their child up for success by role modeling and setting realistic goals during peer-to-peer group sessions.

 

"We've taken the best available from other weight management programs to create a unique one that involves the entire family," says Stanley Goldstein, co-founder and chief executive of Great Moves! The program was developed over the last few years with input from varied experts, he added.

 

MEET EMILY AND HER PARENTS AND GET A SNEAK PEEK AT GREAT MOVES!


Staff say that the program doesn't concentrate on what the scale says but rather on a family's desire to lead a healthier life.
 
 

"We don't really talk about weight at all, we talk about elements of health and vitality. Weight can be so shaming, really, in kids who come here," says Rostler. "They may not talk about it at first, but some may be teased on playground or don't like shopping for clothes and many feel bad about themselves. We are trying to focus on the positive. We teach skills and offer tools that lead to a healthy lifestyle and over time (the kids) will achieve a healthy body weight."
 
 

And that is the grounding force of Great Moves! - it takes an isolating situation and turns it into a team effort - whether it's peer to peer during weekly sessions or mother/father to daughter or son.

 

Emily is definitely not alone. Although her Dad admits having the toughest time adjusting to the new food choices in their Needham home (goodbye junk food, hello whole wheat bread and fresh fruit) he credits his wife and daughter for keeping him in line.
 

"I had problems as a child and I'm excited for her because I don't want her to go through what I did," he said. "When I was playing sports I was in great shape and when I wasn't I was in bad shape. I don't want her to go through that."
 

Now 5 weeks into the 6-month program, Emily says she's learning things like "which foods are fake and real and that some juices may not have sugar but do have chemicals in it."

 

Anne, who dropped 35 pounds a few years ago, had hoped her weight loss would jumpstart the whole family but her efforts failed.

 

"One of the best things about this program is that someone else is saying it, it's not just mom suggesting changes," she said.
 

Now, her parents say, Emily is looking at all foods in a different way. "Everywhere we go she is very good about pointing out good and bad food choices," says Anne. Emily is also her family's biggest cheerleader.
 

"It's very funny when I hear my daughter say 'I'm very proud of you,'" said Rob. "The other day I ordered a sandwich the way I should on whole wheat bread, no mayo, no cheese. She said 'Dad I'm very proud of you.'"
 

However, Emily was not always on board with this program. When her parents first suggested it, she thought it sounded "weird."
 

Rostler says some of the current participants were also reluctant at first. "A lot of them have tried other weight programs in the past and nothing has quite worked for them. I think it speaks to the uniqueness of the program for them to decide to join."

 

The selling point for Emily was the unlimited access to the physical activity space. Instead of the typical treadmills and bikes, there are XerDance mats and cool obstacle courses with blinking lights and sounds. Staff say physical activity is essential for healthy living, yet kids today are getting less and less of it which is contributing to the nation's obesity programs.

 

In fact, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the proportion of children ages 2 through 19 years who were obese tripled between 1976 and 2004.
 

"I think basically our society is set up to make, not only kids, but adults overweight," said Rostler, who is also senior dietitian in the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program at Children's Hospital Boston. "It's so easy to get unhealthy processed food and hard, and quite frankly, expensive to eat healthy. Families have to work harder to be healthy."
 

With the support of her parents, Emily's future looks bright. She may have a lofty long-term goal to become a four-star chef but for now she has a goal more closely bound to her preteen years. "I want to wear a bikini this summer!"
 

Great Moves! Program details
* First center opened at 188 Needham Street in Newton in April 2008; more centers may open around the area in the future

* Medically-based, family oriented program developed in part on a protocol used at Children's Hospital Boston (operated in collaboration with their physicians)

* Available to children between the ages of 6 and 18 who have a BMI at or above the 85th percentile for age and sex

* Child and parent(s) required to attend weekly sessions over six months (consists of a total of 35 visits with physicians, nutritionist, behaviorists, and physical activity specialists)

* Peer to peer group sessions led by nutritionist, psychologists, social workers and exercise physiologists

* Includes unlimited use of gym (skips treadmills and bikes and opts for funky dance mats and cool obstacle challenges!), complete access to designated team coach, physical exams

* Referrals are not necessary

* $300 to register + $450 a month (Great Moves! encourages families to submit paperwork to insurance companies for possible reimbursement)

* Provides several maintenance options once the 6-month program ends

For more information, visit www.greatmoves.com   or call 617-928-0006.