There are many tools that help you better assess, prevent, and treat obesity in your office. Some are highlighted below.

BMI Calculator
This calculator provides BMI and the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile on a CDC BMI-for-age growth chart. Use this calculator for children and teens, aged 2 through 19 years old.

BMI Table
This table is for children and adolescents 2-20 years of age.

BMI Wheel
Free BMI wheels can often be obtained locally via insurance companies, industry, community intervention sites, and the Department of Health. However there are also many companies that produce and sell these wheels which can be easily found via an Internet search.

Care Coordination Resources
The following materials were designed by the a team of experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dietetic Association, and the American Heart Association, to help support primary care providers (PCPs) and registered dietitians (RDs) provide comprehensive and coordinated weight management care for patients and families. Although these materials were developed as part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthcare Initiative, these resources can be helpful to any primary care practitioners and registered dietitians who wish to provide comprehensive multidisciplinary care to patients who are overweight or obese.

Materials include:

• Connecting With a Provider: How to find a PCP or RD in your area for coordination of care.
• Suggested Pediatric Weight Management Protocols: Visual reference charts for pediatricians and RDs to coordinate the process and scheduling of pediatric weight management care office visits.
• Pediatric Weight Management – Medical Summary: A form for PCPs to guide the assessment component of the child's first office visit.
• Pediatric Weight Management – Ongoing Care Coordination and Information Sharing: A form for PCPs and RDs to summarize and document key information from each office visit.
• Feeback form: These materials are still in a pilot phase. If you have any feedback on these forms, please share with us via this feedback form. Thank you.

Growth Charts
Available for purchase at the AAP Bookstore

Growth Chart Information
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides extensive background information on the growth charts as well as numerous PDF examples of how to use them.

Growth Chart Training
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a set of self-directed, interactive training modules for health care professionals using the pediatric growth charts in clinical and public health settings to assess growth of infants, children, and adolescents.

Healthy Active Living (HAL) Prescriptions
The HAL prescriptions were developed in concert with the Let's Move initiative to provide providers with tools to use in counseling families about healthy nutrition and physical activity. These are designed for families ready to make a change in their behavior. 

• 1 per page (size) color: English | Spanish
• 1 per page (size) black/white: English | Spanish
• 2 per page (size) color: English | Spanish
• 2 per page (size) black/white: English | Spanish
  

Healthy Active Living for Families Project (HALF)
HALF is a project of the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight which integrates the parent perspective and evidence-informed pediatric health guidance to address early childhood obesity prevention.

• Learn more about the HALF Project and what makes it unique.
• Visit the HALF website dedicated to parents and caregivers of young children.
• Actionable, evidence-based, and parent derived strategies to support healthy active living for young children—available in Spanish!
  • Baby (0-12 months)
  • Toddler (1-3 years)
  • Preschool (3-5 years)
• To support pediatricians and parents two interactive widgets “Quick Tips: Keep Your Child Healthy” and “Are you Raising a Healthy, Active Child?” were developed.
• Learn more about the widgets.
• Test out the widgets and copy the code provided to embed on your practice website today!

Pediatric e-Practice: Optimizing Your Obesity Care (PeP):  The PeP is a new internet platform designed to prime the pediatric office for obesity prevention, assessment, and treatment and to facilitate access to numerous resources to support the implementation of this care.

• Explore the PeP.
• Visit the HALF website dedicated to parents and caregivers of young children.
• Need help getting started?  Watch the PeP tutorial.

5, 2, 1, 0 The Pediatric Obesity Clinical Decision Support Chart
Available for purchase from the AAP bookstore. This convenient flip chart provides child health care professionals practical support and guidance to help improve care and outcomes for overweight youth. It is consistent with the December 2007 Expert Panel Recommendations for Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity (AAP Endorsed).

Expert Committee Recommendations on the Assessment, Prevention and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity - 2007 - An Implementation Guide from the Childhood Obesity Action Network
National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ), together with key partners, has created an Implementation Guide to accompany the newly released Obesity Recommendations. These recommendations come from the Expert Committee on the Assessment, Prevention and Management of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity, convened by AMA, CDC, and HRSA. NICHQ's Implementation Guide is now available and will support providers with the tools and resources necessary to put the new recommendations into practice.

Scroll back to the top

The Quality Improvement Innovation Network (QuIIN)
QuIIN is a program at the AAP that involves a network of practicing pediatricians and their staff teams who use quality improvement methods to test tools, interventions, and strategies in order to improve healthcare and outcomes for children and their families.

• QuIINovation Exchange
  QuIINovation Exchange is an opportunity for QuIIN members to regularly communicate with other network members. It is a chance for QuIIN members to obtain feedback on their innovations (ideas, strategies, and tools) and provide feedback on other members' innovations. There is a discussion thread focused on obesity.

The Childhood Obesity Action Network (COAN)
COAN is a Web-based national network, coordinated by the National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality aimed at rapidly sharing knowledge, successful practices, and innovation by:

• Mobilizing and inspiring health care providers to accelerate improvements in care and advocate for change
• Partnering with a broad constituency of health professionals, quality improvement leaders, childhood obesity experts, and child health advocates
• Designing and disseminating policy interventions that will enhance the ability of the healthcare system to address the obesity challenge
• Providing tools and technical assistance to improve clinical care
• Focusing on strategies to reduce health disparities and provide culturally effective care for all families
• Committing to evaluating, learning, and sharing evidence-informed strategies.

Find a Nutritional Professional in Your Community
The American Dietetic Association (ADA) provides a searchable database to find professional nutritional services in your area. The database includes registered dieticians (RD) and dietetic technicians (DTR). According to the ADA a registered dietitian or RD and dietetic technician, registered or DTR can only be used by dietetics practitioners who are currently authorized to use the credential by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the American Dietetic Association. Individuals with these credentials have completed specific academic and supervised practice requirements, successfully completed a registration examination, and maintained requirements for recertification. Some RDs or DTRs call themselves nutritionists. However, the definition and requirements for the term "nutritionist" vary. Some states have licensure laws that define the scope of practice for someone using the designation nutritionist. The ADA defines the RD and DTR as follows:

• Registered Dietitians (RD): Proven Professional Expertise and Excellence
  Registered Dietitians have completed academic and experience requirements established by the Commission on Dietetic Registration, ADA's credentialing agency, including a minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and an accredited pre-professional experience program. RDs must successfully complete a rigorous professional level exam and must maintain ongoing continuing education to maintain their credential. Some RDs hold advanced degrees and additional certifications in specialized areas of practice.
• Dietetic Technicians, Registered (DTR): Proven Technical Expertise and Excellence
  Dietetic Technicians, Registered have earned at least a two-year degree from an accredited college or university and have completed a dietetic technical program approved by ADA's Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education, including supervised practice experience in community programs, health-care, and foodservice facilities. DTRs must successfully complete a rigorous technical level exam and must maintain ongoing continuing education to maintain their credential.

 

Scroll back to the top

Bright Futures is a national health care promotion and disease prevention initiative that uses a developmentally based approach to address children's health care needs in the context of family and community. Its purpose is to promote and improve infant, child, and adolescent health within the context of family and community.

The following are the obesity related guidelines:

Bright Futures Guidelines Promoting Healthy Weight

Bright Futures Guidelines Promoting Healthy Nutrition

Bright Future Guidelines - Physical Activity

The following are the obesity related Bright Futures handouts:

Bright Futures Promoting Healthy Weight Handout

Bright Futures Promoting Healthy Nutrition Handout

Bright Futures Physical Activity Handout

Scroll back to the top