Metabolic Services for Children

To eat healthfully and manage your weight, especially as a child, teen or young adult or as loved ones or family of such young people, means you may need guidance, care and support from specialized health professionals who can help you or your loved one live well while addressing specific lifestyle, medical and health conditions.

Healthy Futures for Young People

That’s exactly why you want to work with the endocrinology experts at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center and The Children’s Hospital at OU Health. When you or your loved one participate in the Healthy Futures program, you benefit from specialized endocrinology, diabetes, weight management and metabolic services in a compassionate environment.

Through our family-centered approach to care, you or your loved one will work with a multidisciplinary team to develop an evidence-based plan tailored to your individual needs and designed to help your entire family adopt and maintain long-term strategies for healthy living.

You and your family work with specialists from many different healthcare fields who take a comprehensive view of your situation and offer specific recommendations that fit your particular needs.

Referral Requirements

Ask your doctor or primary care physician – an important member of your care team – for the referral required to enter the Healthy Futures program at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. In addition to physician referral, you or your child or adolescent must meet these admission standards:

• Age between 2 and 18
• Body mass index (BMI) greater than the 99th percentile or greater than the 95th percentile when another major health condition also exists
• Previous unsuccessful attempts, lasting a minimum of 3 months, by child and primary care physician to control or decrease weight
• Parents/guardians willing to commit to the Healthy Futures program

What to Expect at Your Appointments

Allow about four hours for the first appointment with your OU Health care team. Based on the needs of your child and family, follow-up visits typically will be shorter.

Your multidisciplinary team – pediatrician, physical therapist, registered dietitian, pediatric psychologist and others – will visit with you and your child to complete a comprehensive medical exam, which helps identify any underlying medical conditions, lifestyle risk factors for weight gain and risk factors for chronic disease.

You and your child will receive personalized recommendations for healthy diet and physical activity, and you’ll work with a pediatric psychologist to set goals and reduce barriers to achieving healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Related Services for Healthy Futures

Rely on the experts at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center for additional services to help you care for conditions related to all types of diabetes. Take advantage of:

• Pediatric weight management education for individuals, families, health professionals and others
• Diagnostic services and specialty tests such as echocardiogram, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, oral glucose tolerance testing, sleep studies, ultrasound and more
• Connections to healthy living resources in your community for ongoing nutrition and physical activity support
• Research leading to innovative and improved methods for pediatric weight management

Explore Your Options

Explore diabetes treatment for children at OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.