INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN ADDRESSES CHILD OBESITY IN UTAH
Tamara Lewis, MD, Intermountain Healthcare Director of Community Health and Prevention
Childhood obesity is a serious epidemic facing not just Utah, but the entire nation. Studies estimate that about one in four Utah children are overweight with nearly 10 percent of all Utah kids classified as obese.
This may be the most critical health issue for this generation, and if not effectively addressed, the crisis will cause serious health impacts.
To help with this problem, Intermountain Healthcare has launched a multi-year statewide public service campaign to get Utah’s children to be more physically active and eat healthier. Named LiVe, the campaign is focused primarily on children ages 11-15, but also helps parents gain tools and knowledge to help their children.
The campaign includes advertising, school assemblies, new education materials for health providers, an interactive website, and informational offerings for kids and their parents.
The LiVe website, intermountainlive.org, contains helpful materials for parents and children, as well as fun games that teach kids about living a healthy lifestyle.
The LiVe Campaign is taking an educational program statewide to school assemblies. Also named LiVe, the program’s entertaining and thought provoking format encourages kids to be active and make good health choices.
Because health providers in medical clinics play a vital role in helping kids and their parents with this issue, the campaign includes providing pediatricians, family physicians, and other medical personnel with new tools and health education materials to share with their patients.
The public service program also has a component named ViVe that specifically addresses Utah’s Hispanic community.
LiVe can help children be more physically active and make more healthy food choices. By coordinating with children, parents, schools, and the medical community, we can reverse the direction this crisis is heading.
For more information please visit http://intermountainlive.org.
