Weight Management 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 Living for Young People

That’s exactly why you want to work with the pediatric weight management experts at Oklahoma Children’s OU Health and the Schusterman Clinic in Tulsa. When you and your child participate in healthy living programs available to you at OU Health, your family will benefit from specialized weight management services in a compassionate environment.

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

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

Develop Healthy Habits for Life

You’ll benefit from a comprehensive approach to healthy living that through an interdisciplinary team addresses various factors that may contribute to childhood obesity. You and your family are supported physically, mentally and emotionally as you develop habits to set your child up for a lifetime of healthy living. Rely on your weight management team at OU Health – with locations in Oklahoma City and Tulsa – throughout every stage of your journey.

Healthy Futures Program in Oklahoma City

Take advantage of the weight management experts available to you through the Healthy Futures Program. You’ll gain access to the resources, information and tools you need to create a healthy lifestyle for your child and family. 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.

Early Lifestyle Intervention Program (ELI) in Tulsa

In addition to the wide range of weight management services available to you through the ELI program, you benefit from a partnership with the Tandy YMCA and gain access to free guest passes, reduced cost memberships and cooking classes.

You can take advantage of emerging weight management services available to you through the ELI’s participation in the Pediatric Obesity Weight Evaluation Registry (POWER), a collaborative effort of youth weight management clinics across the United States. If necessary, experts from the Schusterman bariatric program will be included in the treatment.

Referral Requirements

Ask your doctor or primary care physician – an important member of your care team – for the referral required to enter the weight management program at Oklahoma Children’s OU Health. 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) in the 95th percentile or above for age

• Parents/guardians are willing and able to participate in the program, which includes frequent clinic visits

• Previous weight management provided by primary care physician, dietician, or specialist for at least 3 months

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, registered dietitian and pediatric psychologist — will visit with you and your child to complete a comprehensive evaluation, which helps identify any underlying medication conditions and risk factors for weight gain and chronic disease. A pediatric sleep medicine physician is also available to help manage sleep disorders associated with weight gain as needed.

You and your child will receive personalized recommendations to improve your child’s health. The team will work to set goals and reduce barriers to achieving healthy lifestyle behaviors.

Related Weight Management Services

Rely on the experts at OU Health for additional services to help you care for conditions related to weight management as well as 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 and communication and collaboration with other weight management programs across the United States

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