Pediatric Obesity Care Program
If your child is struggling with excess weight or health issues related to it, the pediatric obesity care program at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois can help.
Our team at Healthy Kids U (HKU) cares about more than just the number on the scale. Our experts work with your child and family to look at all parts of your child’s health. They find out why your child might be gaining extra weight, including genetic conditions, how they eat, sleep habits, exercise, and social life and feelings. We strive to support children of different body sizes in achieving long-term health and confidence.
What is Healthy Kids U?
HKU is a special program for kids and teens ages 2 to 18. It uses proven methods to assess and treat obesity and other health conditions. Our team of experts works with your family and your child’s health providers to make a plan. This plan helps your child build healthy habits, stay emotionally well, and maintain a healthy metabolism in the long run.
How We Support Your Child
Our team helps your child develop healthy habits that can last. We offer support based on what your child needs, such as:
- Advice on eating healthy and having a good relationship with food
- Emotional and mental health support
- Help from social workers for any extra needs
- Referrals for metabolic surgery if needed
- Teaching about good nutrition and planning meals
- Tips for better sleep and activity plans suited to your child’s abilities
- Treatment with medications for obesity when necessary
We also stay in touch with your child’s primary care doctor and specialists to make sure their care plan is coordinated.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
At your first appointment, you and your child will meet with a pediatric doctor or nurse practitioner. The visit will last about 45 to 60 minutes. During this time, you'll talk about what you and your child hope to achieve and what concerns you have. We will try to find out what might be causing your child’s extra weight and health problems. Using this information, we will work together to make a personalized plan that may include:
- Connecting you to other social and health-promoting services in your community
- Encouraging healthy relationships with food
- Further testing, such as genetic testing, sleep studies or other blood work
- Managing structured and balanced eating habits
- Nutrition education and meal planning
- Options for medication treatment
- Sleep hygiene and physical activity plans tailored to your child’s abilities
- Tips for establishing healthy family routines
- Tools for managing emotions and psychological support
Meet Your Care Team
Our team helps identify the causes of your child’s health problems. Together, we make a plan that is personal and doable. We help your child create new habits for eating, sleeping, moving and staying positive to support long-term health.
What causes pediatric obesity?
Childhood obesity is caused by internal and external factors. Internal factors can include genes and other health problems. External factors include where we live, work and play.
Examples include:
- Eating patterns and affordable or accessible food
- Family history of high body sizes and excessive feelings of hunger
- Family routines and community environment
- Low physical activity and problematic sleep patterns
- Medication treatment for other health conditions
- Stress, depression, anxiety and peer pressure
Lifestyle Approach to Fitness and Nutrition
The HKU pediatric obesity care program focuses on simple lifestyle changes that promote long-term health. Instead of dieting methods, we focus on supporting:
- Choosing healthy foods that lower the chances of getting diabetes and heart problems
- Eating enough to keep your child’s body fueled and full
- Establishing structured routines for eating, playing and sleeping
- Finding fun ways to stay active that are comfortable
We believe that a child’s outcome is best when families work together as a team, so we also support parents and caregivers in maintaining changes at home because health journeys don’t happen alone.
We also offer “Cooking with HKU” classes year-round at the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute Teaching Kitchen. As a patient and family member in our clinic, we invite you to join! The classes are updated monthly, so check back often to find one that fits your schedule.
Emphasizing Children’s Mental Wellness
Many children in larger bodies often feel upset or sad because of how they are treated or because something difficult happens in their lives. These feelings and experiences can affect how they eat, how they feel and their overall health. That’s why HKU offers help from a pediatric psychologist to:
- Find out if they have mental health issues like anxiety or depression
- Help kids feel more confident and motivated
- Help with unhealthy eating or eating disorders
- Support during bullying or problems with friends
- Talk about self-esteem or body image worries
- Teach ways to manage stress and handle problems
Access to Greater Peoria Family YMCA
HKU also partners with the Greater Peoria Family YMCA to provide a family-focused intensive healthy behavior and lifestyle program for kids ages 8-15. This includes:
- Access to YMCA facilities
- Group physical activity with YMCA staff
- Nutrition and lifestyle behavior classes with HKU staff
Cost: $20 per family – no referral needed
Location: 7000 N. Fleming Lane, Peoria
To learn more or register, call (309) 624-9844.
