Teen embraces life with family help
At the age of 10, Hamilton youngster Casey Jones was considered obese, and stepmum Carly Griffiths decided a lifestyle change was needed. So she contacted the Bodywise programme, a joint initiative between the Waikato District Health Board and Sport Waikato.
‘‘We didn’t realise when we took her to the hospital that she was actually obese but we never used that term to her, we thought she was just slightly overweight.’’
Since completing the programme the family have made fundamental changes – they eat less packaged food, and exercise together more.
Griffiths said she now had a wide range of tools to help her family members maintain a healthy weight.
She said the difference in Casey since the family completed the programme has been huge.
‘‘She is outgoing, funny, bolshie, she is embracing life. People have come up to me and told me what a different kid she is on the netball court.’’
Waikato District Health Board clinical psychologist Natalie Parkes said Bodywise, a family-focused weight management programme for overweight children aged 5-12 years, had been running in the region since 2004.
The multi-disciplinary programme involved meetings with a doctor, a psychologist, a dietitian and an activities co-ordinator in a mix of activities and skills-based sessions.
People could self-refer to the programme and referrals from GPs, paediatricians, public health nurses and other acute services in the hospital.
‘‘For children, the target is actually to try and maintain or at least halt the weight increase while they grow, so their height grows into their weight,’’ she said.
The programme focused on changes within the family, which were more likely to be sustained with the hope of establishing healthy positive eating behaviours as children grow into adulthood.
According to Ministry of Health figures, Waikato has better than average figures with nine per cent of children considered obese.