LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
IMS JOB BANK Iowa physicians make recommendations for their youngest patients regarding obesity
The Iowa Medical Society (IMS) has released a white paper urging physicians to deliver very specific key messages to their youngest patients and their families about proper nutrition and exercise.
IMS President Charles Helms, MD, said early childhood is a perfect place to start because eating and activity levels actually begin at birth and develop during these formative years. "Studies show that parents and childcare workers have the single greatest influence on younger children's eating and activity levels," he said.
This initiative is the result of a nearly $48,000 grant IMS obtained from the Wellmark Foundation to focus on physician interventions with families during well-child doctor visits for children 0 to 5 years old. Rizwan Shah, MD, co-chair of the IMS Committee on Public Health, said well-child visits provide an opportunity for physicians to address important issues, such as obesity, with patients and their families.
A consensus panel of Iowa experts met in the summer of 2004 to discuss national recommendations and develop key messages for physicians. As a result of these meetings, specific materials will be developed for doctors that will assist them in counseling pediatric patients. The materials will also address how a physician can intervene when a child is obese.
Key messages urge parents to:
- Limit sweet drinks (and other sweets) and encourage water instead
- Limit "screen time" devoted to television, video games and computers
- Increase physical play/exercise time
- Encourage healthy family meals around the table at home
- Develop an understanding of portion size
- Emphasize the importance of vegetables and fruits in the diet of a child
The report also includes recommendations for infants. Dr. Shah said the physician materials will be tested in two pilot clinic sites in Iowa in 2005.
All the basic themes covered in the IMS white paper on obesity were reinforced by a report issued in October 2004 by the National Institute of Medicine.
The Iowa Medical Society (IMS) is the professional association for Iowa MDs and DOs. The core purpose of the IMS is to assure the highest quality of health care in Iowa through our role as physician and patient advocate.
