Please Note: POWER will be closing at the end of June 2013 and is no longer accepting new patients. We have appreciated our time working with patients and families in need of weight management and appreciate all the support and referrals we've had. If you have any questions, please contact our program coordinator at AGarant@iuhealth.org.

Riley Hospital for Children POWER (Pediatric OverWeight Education and Research) at Indiana University Health program aims to improve the health of children (ages 2 – 18) and decrease the risks of obesity through multi-level and multi-disciplined clinical programs.

The Riley POWER at IU Health program follows national guidelines and positioning to take a proactive role in the prevention and treatment of youth obesity.

Philosophy

Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health believes that weight loss is best achieved through a positive youth development approach. Positive youth development is an approach to structuring services, systems and support for youth so that young people develop the skills and competencies they need to thrive and enter adulthood ready to face the myriad challenges of adult life, and overcome the negative things in their environments.

The essential assets for positive youth development, including support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, positive values, social competencies and positive identity will be explored in each level of the POWER program.

Aims

The aims of this multi-pronged and multi-level strategy are to:

1. Empower health care providers in the local communities on how to evaluate, manage and prevent pediatric obesity
2. Identify, educate, and train professionals (Registered dietitians, Behavioral therapists, and Exercise physiologists) in the local communities
3. Establish a tertiary-care based weight management program at Riley Hospital for Children for patients who need sub-specialty care. This comprehensive program, led by physicians, dietitians, behavioral therapists and exercise physiologists, will provide thorough medical evaluation and an intensive weight management program with individualized access to various medical specialists.
4. Implement and promote weight and lifestyle programs that are school-, family-, web-, and community-based.
5. Promote collaboration with medical and surgical specialists.
6. Foster research in the field of pediatric obesity including the exploration of other therapeutic modalities.
7. Secure extra-mural funding to nurture and sustain the Riley POWER program.
8. Advance education in the field of pediatric obesity.

Design

Obesity interventions need to be multi-level. The POWER program at Riley Hospital for Children functions on the following levels:

1. Level 1: Physician education and empowerment - POWER-Physicians
2. Level 2: Identification of Community resources - POWER-Community
3. Level 3: Tertiary care level program at Riley POWER at IU Health - Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health
4. Other Objectives: Riley POWER at IU Health will support and promote community partnerships/programs

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body Mass Index is a way to track your body size. Studies suggest BMI correlates with body fat and degree of obesity. For children, percentiles of BMI are used to classify risk for age and gender.

• At risk for obesity BMI would be greater than the 85th percentile.
• Obese BMI would be greater than the 95th percentile.
• Visit the CDC web site to calculate your BMI