Reduce Child Obesity: A Guide to Using the Kid's Choice Program in School and at Home

Reduce Child Obesity: A Guide to Using The Kid’s Choice Program in School and at Home provides school leaders with a practical guide for applying the Kid's Choice Program (KCP), which is a school-based program to promote healthy behaviors and reduce the risk of child obesity. The KCP Guide may also be used by health researchers to document the program's effectiveness. The KCP was researched with 1000+ school-age children and documented to be easy-to-use, low in cost (at $2 per child per month), and effective for increasing weight management behaviors in children (eating fruits and vegetables, choosing low-fat and low-sugar drinks, exercising daily). Research also documents that the KCP improves weight status in overweight children (for intervention) and normal-weight children (for prevention). Additionally, the program improves diets of children who are picky eaters. The KCP can be delivered by small teams of 2-4 volunteers (such as parents) after five minutes of training. It uses simple procedures (children wear nametags, "stars" punched in nametags when children choose healthy behaviors, weekly Reward Days let children trade "stars" for small prizes). The KCP is well-accepted by children, parents, and school staff. For more information on the KCP, please visit kidschoiceprogram.org.

Table of Contents:
Dedication List of Chapter Inserts Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Development of Children's Health Behaviors Chapter 3: Research Documenting KCP Effectiveness Chapter 4: KCP Application: School Procedures Chapter 5: KCP Application: Personnel Chapter 6: KCP Application: Materials and Costs Chapter 7: Documenting Your KCP Effectiveness (Optional) Chapter 8: Other Mealtime Parent Actions Chapter 9: When to Seek Professional Help References Acknowledgments About the Authors

About the Author :
Helen Hendy, PhD, is a research psychologist with over twenty years of experience evaluating school programs to improve children’s healthy behaviors. She is a professor of psychology at Penn State University, Schuylkill Campus, with over twenty publications on children’s feeding behavior and research awards from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Keith Williams, PhD, BCBA is a psychologist and behavior analyst with over 20 years’ experience in the treatment of children's feeding problems. He is the Director of the Feeding Program at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Professor of Pediatrics at the Penn State College of Medicine. He has over forty articles and one book related to children's feeding problems. Thomas Camise, MEd, is the retired Elementary School Principal and Director of Special Education for Schuylkill Haven Area School District, Pennsylvania and now is School Administrator for a private school in Pennsylvania. Of his forty years in the field of education, thirty-four years were in administrative capacities, and he has published seven articles on the effectiveness of the Kid’s Choice Program.

Review :
From an Elementary Principal’s perspective, ReduceChild Obesity: A Guide to Using the Kid's Choice Program in School and at Home can be used to improve significantly the health behaviors and weight of children without sacrificing any instructional time. Because the Kid’s Choice Program can be delivered independently by parent volunteers, none of our staff members’ time was utilized. This book provides a wonderful solution to address a complex issue! Reduce Child Obesity was a fun, easy way for my son to enjoy positive feedback for healthy eating and exercise habits. It increased his willingness to try new foods and made the rest of the family more conscious of healthy choices too! Childhood obesity is an epidemic whose solution requires actions rather than words, in depth research rather than cursory attention, and a focus on kids in environments where healthy eating habits can be developed and strengthened. The Kid’s Choice Program [set forth in this book] represents a major step toward addressing childhood obesity because it provides empirically validated treatments developed over time that have produced lasting effects. What is especially valuable about this program is that it is very user-friendly for kids, their parents, and their school. One of the greatest legacies we can give to children is a healthy life style that helps protect them from the ravages of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and research shows that healthy, fit children feel better about themselves. Anyone interested in combating childhood obesity should have Reduce Child Obesity: A Guide to Using the Kid's Choice Program in School and at Home in their quiver.