New program in Murfreesboro to help fight Childhood Obesity

Sep 10, 2014 at 04:15 am by bryan


In recognition of National Childhood Obesity Month, Murfreesboro Medical Clinic's Weight Loss and Wellness highlights LAUNCH, a pediatric weight loss program. LAUNCH is part of a national effort to eradicate childhood obesity in the United States and ensure that young people get a healthy start in life.

LAUNCH is a medically supervised weight loss program tailored to the individual nutrition and exercise needs of growing children. It includes the same three-phase program for adults, but is modified for growing bodies: 1. Weight loss, 2. Transition, 3. Long-term relapse prevention.During the past four decades, obesity rates have soared among all age groups, increasing more than fourfold among children ages six to 11. More than 23 million American children and teenagers (31.8%), ages two to 19, are obese or overweight, a statistic that health and medical experts consider and epidemic.

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"The growing rate of childhood obesity in our country is alarming," said MMC Weight Loss and Wellness Director, Dr. Kimberly Shannon. "National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and LAUNCH recognize the serious threat obesity poses to the health of America's children and the importance of decreasing its prevalence not only in Murfreesboro, but across the entire country."

Obese young people have an 80% chance of becoming obese adults and are more likely than children of healthy weight to become overweight or obese adults. As a result, they are at greater risk for associated adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.

To learn more about National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month this September or to get involved in events and activities to build awareness of childhood obesity, visitCOAM-month.org.

Dr. Shannon is an Internal Medicine Physician directing a staff of experts to create individualized nutrition, exercise, and supportive counseling to help pediatric patients reach their goals and maintain their weight. To learn more about LAUNCH or Weight Loss and Wellness, visit mmclinic.com or call 615-867-8100.

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