Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences is leading the way with an innovative, free program to help reduce childhood obesity. Dr. Anne VanGarsse, Assistant Dean at KCU, is a pediatrician who played a major role in getting the Champs program up and running.
- Eat Smart Champs is a program designed to help children and their parents with high body mass index (BMI) learn healthy living skills AND give valuable experience to medical students, especially those entering pediatrics.
- The med students are supervised by a physician and trained by a dietician and usually work with kids in the K-5th grade range.
- Children in the urban areas often do not have easy access to healthy foods, and are not always financially able to participate in sports.Eat Smart Champs helps them view health in innovative ways.
- Score 1 for Health piloted the Champs project in 2015. They saw enough success that the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City awarded another grant. The newly awarded grant started in July 2016 and will continue for two years. It will allow more medical students and more families to be enrolled in the Champs program. Score 1 for Health plans to add group sessions at two elementary schools.
- Dr. VanGarsse hopes the success of Eat Smart Champs will be a model for medical schools and communities nationwide
- If parents are interested in enrolling a child they can call: 816-654-7970 There is no charge for the program.
I had the pleasure of working out with one of the first students in the program, first grader, Avril. She is full of joy and excitement and loves trying new healthy foods. KCU second year medical student, Sydney Jones, met once a week with Avril teaching healthy foods and how to try new games outside to make exercise more fun. It worked. Avril lost 8 pounds after being in the program for one year!
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Cynthia Newsome can be reached at Cynthia.Newsome@kshb.com.
