Everyone Is a Vital Winner at Sunday's 1st Annual Fundraiser

At the Belmont Pool on Super Bowl Sunday, UC Irvine pediatric residents got together with Miller’s Children’s Hospital and decided instead of focusing on beer and football they would focus on families and healthy lifestyles. The inspiration came from pediatric resident Jen Chen and her fellow pediatric residents at UC Irvine. They were talking about how they saw a lot of patients who were overweight and obese and they wanted to do something to help these children and their families.

The critical moment for Dr. Chen was when she saw a 6-year-old boy who weighed 120 pounds and his family did not think he was overweight. The residents got together and came up with the idea of the fun run on Super Bowl Sunday. The residents also work at Miller’s Children’s Hospital in Long Beach so that’s how they picked Long Beach to be the location for the run. 

Sunday's event, which started at 8:30 a.m. and lasted until 2 p.m., was the first of what's hoped to be an annual occasion to raise families' awareness about healthy lifestyles and give them an opportunity for healthy activity.  

I interviewed some of the UC Irvine pediatric physicians about their role in helping families prevent overweight and obesity.

Patch: What are your favorite tips for families for maintaining a healthy body weight?

Dr. Marc Lerner (UCI pediatric physician, faculty UCI)

1. No media on during meals  

2. Family meals, eating as a family, where there is a family connection as well as healthy eating

3. Keep water around and teach kids to carry some type of water bottle they can refill

Dr. Pedro Paz (UCI pediatric resident)

1. Everyone in the household needs to make changes that helps (overweight) kids feel less shameful. 

2. Can’t go wrong with saying exercise, exercise.

Dr. Jen Chen (UCI pediatric resident)

1. No Hot Cheetos

2. Limit fruit juices and Gatorade-type drinks. Just drink water. If they want the taste of fruit, give them actual fruit; it has fiber. Too many liquid calories should be avoided.

3. Eat your veggies first.

P: What if they do not like vegetables?

JC: There is always one (vegetable they like), give them that one.

P: What is the doctor’s role is when he/she comes across an overweight or obese patient? Are they referred to someone?

ML: Begin by asking if they can think about making a change. Once they say they can think about making a change then the doctor will begin to talk about how. Change for children is always within families.

JC: Ask the ins-and-outs of what they eat, how they snack, how much video time and television (they do per day). It should be limited to two hours maximum for the day which includes video games and television.

P: I know you recommend exercise. What do you do when families say they are too busy for exercise?

JC: I recommend going for a 20-minute walk after dinner. They are already together and are likely to just sit on the sofa and watch TV for those 20 minutes.

PP: Education is the biggest role in addressing obesity. We try to find out the cause.

Paz said it is routine that all of the UCI pediatricians ask families about their eating and exercise habits even if they are not overweight, since it is about prevention. Lerner added that people are struggling day after day to find an environment where they can exercise and lead a healthy lifestyle and their models are not the best. Families need information.

Dr. Khanh-Van Le-Bucklin is the pediatric residency director at UCI. I asked her (referring to Dr. Lerner’s comment) why it was so important to turn the television off during meals. They both answered that we tend not to notice that we are full when we have the distraction of the television. We are not tuning into our bodies. Khanh-Van Le-Bucklin said research confirms that people eat more when they watch television. And from a social and behavioral aspect, it is healthier to have that time to connect with each other.

The Super Kids Fun Run was well-attended and inspirational. There were booths with educational activities for children. Many families did either the 5K or the fun run together. One UCI resident wore a moose hat and rode his bike on the fun run and told the children if they beat him they could have his hat. The UC Irvine residents and Miller’s Children’s Hospital look forward to making this an annual event.

I know I left feeling very motivated to remember to turn off the television, have family meals and do a 20-minute walk after the meal­­—even if it is only once a week. Small steps always count. Please feel free to share your family’s successes and challenges with me. Personally, I am going to add the walk to our family meal one time this week and then hope to add more walks and more family sit down dinners in weeks to come. I would love to hear your goal.