Tackling Childhood Obesity

Sharon Wolf (left), administrative director, SCICORD, discusses the program's goals with Dr. James Stallworth (right).

How much these Southern favorites contribute to weight gain may not be as clear cut as the fact that South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation in the rate of adult obesity. Unfortunately increasing numbers of the state's children are following in these footsteps.  That's why the South Carolina Children's Hospital Collaborative (an association of the four children's hospitals in the state) created the South Carolina Institute for Childhood Obesity and Related Disorders (SCICORD) in 2006, a statewide program to prevent and treat childhood obesity and related disorders.

Awarded a three-year, $700,000 grant from The Duke Endowment, SCICORD is collaborating with existing children's obesity programs throughout the state and other organizations. Dr. James Stallworth, an associate professor of pediatrics, is SCICORD's principal investigator.  "One of the great things is how much attention and commitment is already out there to combat obesity. Hopefully we can bring some of these institutions and groups together to share our expertise and recognize how much we can do," he said.

SCICORD is looking to expand the obesity prevention and treatment programs already offered by the children's hospitals in the collaborative: Palmetto Health Children's Hospital, MUSC Children's Hospital, McLeod Children's Hospital and Greenville Hospital System Children's Hospital. One way of doing this will be the establishment of satellite obesity clinics in rural areas. Sharon Wolf, SCICORD's administrative director, explains the potential benefits of these partnerships with the hospitals. "It creates a bigger blanket of coverage so we can address the transportation barriers for patients having to travel to urban centers for treatment," she said.

Telemedicine will also be utilized to expand services to children living in rural communities. Using the expertise available at the children's hospitals, one-on-one counseling on healthy lifestyles will be provided through telemedicine services. The technology will also furnish a means for pediatricians and family practitioners in rural areas to confer with specialists at the four sites. Additionally, each of the hospitals in the collaborative will be developing patient education presentations to be broadcast on a monthly basis at sites throughout the state.

Dr. Stallworth cannot emphasize enough the importance of education in addressing obesity in children. "We have got to be sure that we impact on this in a preventive mode and before co-morbidities occur," he said.  By working with P.E. teachers, parents at PTA meetings, and school nurses, SCICORD is actively promoting healthy lifestyles in schools. In helping schools to implement healthy lifestyle curricula, the program directly supports these schools in meeting the requirements of the Student Health and Fitness Act of 2005, Act 102.

Unfortunately, more of today's children are reaching unhealthy weights before they even start school. "We understand that this is a problem starting as young as three or four years of age. It's almost going to take a change in social perspective to recognize the issue and for all of us to do our part," Dr. Stallworth said. One step that SCICORD will take in this direction will be the creation of a series of public service announcements to communicate about obesity in children. "We want to create consistent messages that people can understand," Wolf said.

As SCICORD addresses the daunting issue of childhood obesity, Wolf and Dr. Stallworth are committed to the program's life-changing potential. "We want to have an impact on children and adolescents so that they become healthy adults," Dr. Stallworth said. Wolf agreed. "We would love to see all children in the state of South Carolina learn to make healthy life choices to maintain a healthy body weight throughout their lives. That would be our dream come true."

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, May 2007

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