Childhood Obesity Clinician's Toolbox

Course overview

Childhood Obesity Clinician's Toolbox is a 3-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that explores the epidemic of childhood obesity by examining the effects of high-fat, high-sugar foods, artificial sweeteners, and food marketing on children. We will examine the ways in which these foods later a child's metabolism, setting them on a course of weight gain, metabolic inefficiency, and obesity. We will also review how obesity affects children's self-perception and sense of identity in ways that predispose them for a lifelong battle with weight. We will see what can be done to shift the balance in children's favor. We will first explore how changing a child's physical weight begins with changing their image of that weight - more specifically, their self-image. We will consider ways to combat food marketers and interrupt the cycle that hooks children on unhealthy foods. We will also examine metabolic strategies and exercise that will not only effectively "prime the metabolic pump," but also strengthen children's sense of self-control and confidence - factors associated with a healthy weight. The Clinician's Toolbox will provide the clinician strategies to address and prevent childhood obesity, including evidence-based recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization. Specific step-by-step activities for children and parents, as well as an overview of motivational interviewing, will give clinicians specific strategies to use in their practice. Book and website resources are provided at the end of the course for further study and use. Course 31-29 | 2021 | 58 pages | 20 posttest questions