Healthy Weight and Your Child Program
Empowering Families to Live Healthier
The YMCA of Alaska is excited to announce the launch of its new program, “Healthy Weight and Your Child,” beginning January 28th, 2025. This initiative aims to combat childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyles among children and their families.
Qualifications
To participate in the Healthy Weight and Your Child program, children must meet the following criteria:
- Age: 7-13 years old
- BMI: 95th percentile or higher
- Adult Participation: A caregiver must attend all sessions with the child
- Medical Clearance: Required from a healthcare provider
Participants must fill out the necessary paperwork and obtain a doctor’s approval, then submit these documents to the director for a pre-screening meeting before they can register for the program.
Next Session
- Erin Widener is the Healthy Community Coordinator at the YMCA of Alaska.
- Contact us for information on our next session.
- Contact info below.
Key Curriculum Points
The curriculum of the Healthy Weight and Your Child program is designed to cover essential aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Key highlights include:
- Healthy Eating: Learn about balanced diets, portion control, reading food labels, and understanding internal and external eating triggers.
- Physical Activity: Participate in fun, moderate to vigorous activities suitable for all fitness levels.
- Behavior Change: Develop skills for setting realistic goals, recognizing triggers, and establishing a reward system to maintain healthy habits.
Why Involve the Whole Family?
Engaging the entire family in a child’s weight-management program significantly boosts its effectiveness. When families participate together, they create a supportive environment that fosters healthier habits. This collective effort helps everyone understand the impact of their lifestyle choices, leading to more sustainable and meaningful changes. By working together, families can reinforce positive behaviors, making it easier for children to adopt and maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Program Overview
Healthy Weight and Your Child is an evidence-based lifestyle change intervention designed to address childhood obesity by empowering children and families through education, healthy eating and physical activity. The program is geared toward the whole family, engaging children and adults in nutrition education and physical activity to elicit positive change and to help families learn skills to live a healthier lifestyle long-term. The program kicks off with an information session for families and consists of 25 two-hour sessions delivered over the course of four months. Each session involves both child and adult in facilitated activities, group discussion and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
The Healthy Weight and Your Child curriculum is adapted from the most widely disseminated and extensively evaluated child weight management program in the world (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do-IT—MEND). Studies have shown the program model is effective in reducing a child’s body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, reducing sedentary behaviors, increasing physical activity and improving self-esteem.
Goals
The Healthy Weight and Your Child program aims to achieve the following goals:
- Reduce BMI: Help children achieve a healthier body mass index
- Improve Eating Habits: Foster healthier eating practices for the entire family
- Increase Physical Activity: Encourage regular physical activity among participants
- Boost Self-Esteem: Enhance self-esteem through positive lifestyle changes and support
Program Structure
The Healthy Weight and Your Child program is meticulously structured to ensure comprehensive support and education for families. Here’s an overview of the program’s structure:
- Duration: 15 weeks
- Frequency: Twice a week for the first 10 weeks, then once a week for the last 5 weeks
- Session Length: 2 hours per session
- Components: Each session includes nutrition education, physical activity, and behavior change strategies
- Dinner: Provided courtesy of SUBWAYÂ
- Times: Tuesdays and Thursday evenings, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
- Next Session: Contact us for information on how to enroll.
Nutrition Education
Our nutrition education sessions cover balanced diets, portion control, reading food labels, and understanding eating triggers. These lessons are designed to equip families with the knowledge to make healthier food choices.
Physical Activity
Physical activity sessions include fun, moderate to vigorous exercises suitable for all fitness levels. These activities help families incorporate regular physical activity into their daily routines.
Behavior Change Strategies
Behavior change strategies focus on setting realistic goals, recognizing triggers, and establishing a reward system to maintain healthy habits. These skills are crucial for long-term success.
Get in Touch
Participants must fill out the necessary paperwork and obtain a doctor’s approval, then submit these documents to the director for a pre-screening meeting before they can register for the program. Please contact us!
Contact:
Erin Widener
Healthy Community Coordinator
YMCA of Alaska
Email: erin@ymcaalaska.org
Phone: 907-563-3211
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