Obesity Clinic
Our multidisciplinary obesity clinic is part of the Children's National Obesity Institute. The Obesity Clinic, called Improving Diet, Exercise and Activity for Life (IDEAL), treats children and teens ages 2 to 18 who are at risk of obesity or who have been classified as obese. Find out more about the IDEAL clinic from our brochure.
The IDEAL clinic develops multidisciplinary management plans for obese patients and their families. Patients have access to psychologists, dieticians, and exercise therapists as well as nurses, physicians, and specialists in Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Cardiology, Sleep Medicine, Psychology, and exercise therapy. In 2007, the obesity clinic saw 70 patients and their families. The clinic follows patients every two weeks for the first three months, then monthly for one year.
Expert Staff
The clinic is lead by Nazrat Mirza, MD, who is currently spearheading two community-based intervention research studies for inner-city Latino children and adolescents. Dr. Mirza has written information for primary-care providers to help address obesity.
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Referral Information
The obesity clinic is open to all patients who have been seen at a Goldberg Center primary care site. Children and adolescents ages 2 to 18 years who meet the following criteria may also be referred to the clinic:
- Body Mass Index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile with elevated fasting cholesterol, fasting TG, fasting insulin, fasting glucose, or hypertension
- BMI at or above the 95th percentile who have failed to lose weight after dietary and activity counseling by their primary care doctor and/or a nutritionist/health educator
- BMI at or above the 95th percentile with elevated LFTs
- BMI at or above the 95th percentile with SCFE or Blount’s disease
We also provide the following Tests and Services:
- Dietary counseling
- Nutritional counseling
- Group health education classes
- Physical activity classes
- Parenting education
- Weight management counseling
Patients with hypothyroidism, short stature, or other endocrine disorders should be referred to the Division of Endocrinology.
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Research and Clinical Trials
The IDEAL Obesity Clinic is currently participating in two important clinical research studies. Children’s National’s clinical team works closely with scientists in Children’s Research Institute.
C.O.O.L. Kids (Combating Obesity and Overweight in Latino Kids) focuses on overweight Latino children, ages 7 to 15 years old, who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This pilot study examines the effect of low glycemic load diets in Latino children, and whether these diets will improve insulin sensitivity and/or reduce body weight. Preliminary data from this study has been gathered, and further research remains ongoing.
Several organizations helped fund this important study, including the National Institutes of Health, the Consumer Health Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the Jessie Dupont Foundation.
Juntos Podemos: Start Early, Start Right is a free nutrition-education program for Latino families (taught in Spanish) with children ages 6 and younger. Although the program focuses on healthy eating and active lifestyle for young children, it is the parents that receive the class as they are the ones in charge of the health environment of the house and can create changes for the whole family. Groups of 10-12 parents meet once a week for 2 hours to learn about basic nutritional themes such as reading nutrition labels, balanced eating, healthy fats, portion sizes, and more. The classes are supplemented by information on physical activity for children, keeping a food and activity diary, simple and healthy food demonstrations, a trip to the grocery store, and weekly weigh-ins of parents and children to monitor behavior.
Classes are taught within the community, in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights. For more information or to register for the class, please contact Anna Pollock at (202) 476-4968 or apollack@cnmc.org.
FitFamily is a nutrition, fitness, and wellness program to prevent and manage obesity in children and adolescents ages 6 to 18 years. The program consists of classes on nutrition, self-esteem, parenting, and physical activity to promote a healthier lifestyle for the whole family. FitFamily currently operates in Southeast, DC at the FBR branch of the Boys and Girls Club at THEARC. We have recently expanded the program to Mary Church Terrell Elementary School, also in Southeast, DC, and have plans to partner with other District schools to host FitFamily programs in the near future.
Participants in FitFamily begin the program by attending 10 weekly sessions, followed by 10 monthly sessions, and ending with 4 quarterly sessions. During each session, we offer many wonderful incentives for the whole family including a free two-year membership to the FBR branch of the Boys and Girls Club for children participating in the program.
For further details and information on how to enroll in FitFamily, please call (202) 476-5446, e-mail Vanessa Emmanuel at VEmmanue@cnmc.org or e-mail Nikea Williams at NeWillia@cnmc.org.
**NOTICE**
The IDEAL clinic will be moving to the Spring Valley office on June 1, 2010.
Address:
Children's Outpatient Center in Spring Valley
4900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Suite 320
Washington, DC 20016
Contact Information for this outpatient center:
Phone: 202-895-3860
Fax: 202-895-3870
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Related links
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