In June, the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released the report F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010. It revealed that 38 states have adult obesity rates above 25 percent, and Tennessee tied Alabama in second place with a rate of 31.6 percent. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is working to nip that problem in the bud by targeting the problem of childhood obesity with a new education program designed for pediatricians and family practitioners to share with their patients.

 

Dubbed the Good Health Club, the initiative provides doctors with engaging tools to teach children and their parents the importance of healthy eating and an active lifestyle. A group of animated characters teach kids to:

 

This so-called 5-2-1-0 message is delivered repeatedly in the physician's toolkit, which includes tip sheets, office posters, an Outrun Obesity brochure, body mass indexes for different ages, a weekly journal for kids to use, and a detailed physician reference guide outlining risk assessments, lab values and diseases related to childhood obesity.

 

"The statistics for obesity and the prevalence of obesity continue to worsen, both in Tennessee and nationwide. In the meantime, we continue to find an ever-increasing list of illnesses that are influenced negatively by obesity, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, just to name a few of the major ones," said Inga M. Himelright, MD, MPH, associate chief medical officer for BCBST. She added that much-needed conversations about obesity between physicians and families "become even more important for the health and livelihood of our population."

 

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association rolled out the Good Health Club program nationally this year, and Tennessee's state plan collaborated to offer the toolkit free of charge to more than 1,200 physicians in the state. The materials were released in time to be used for back-to-school doctor visits.

 

"Prior to the national rollout of the tools, it did go to a pilot situation, and so there were physicians who piloted this tool," Himelright said. "They felt the tool was very valuable and had found positive results with their patients." In fact, 79 percent of those physicians considered the educational materials effective, 69 percent reported they broached the subject of healthy lifestyles more often since the toolkit arrived, and 74 percent said they would recommend the toolkit to a colleague. The kit is available in both English and Spanish, with the exception of the physician reference guide, which is only available in English.

 

"Our Tennessee plan has been at the forefront in trying to address childhood obesity," said Mary R. Thompson, BCBST spokeswoman. About six years ago, the plan rolled out physician education materials on obesity. About the same time, BCBST released the WalkingWorks for Schools program, encouraging children in grades K-5 to exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. BCBST's online video programming, found at www.channelbluetn.com, devotes an entire channel to childhood obesity prevention. One program, "Born to Move," is designed for parents and their children to watch together.