Maine Youth Overweight Collaborative

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Established in 2004, the Maine Youth Overweight Collaborative (MYOC) targets childhood overweight and obesity through improved clinical practice by physicians on children's weight. The program trains participating physicians to routinely address children's weight as part of clinical practice and equips physicians with the "5-2-1-0" slogan to teach key messages: eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, limit screen time (television and computer) to 2 hours per day, get 1 hour of physical activity per day, and avoid (0) sugar-sweetened beverages. A flip chart for office use is also provided, offering reference charts, prevention protocol, and suggested screening tests and intervention techniques.

MYOC is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Goal / Mission

MYOC aims to improve clinical practice, care, and outcome regarding children's weight.

Results / Accomplishments

An experimental field trial followed 22 practice teams in Maine that volunteered to participate in the intervention. The teams were trained to counsel children and families on weight and the importance of 5-2-1-0. As a result of the intervention, providers significantly improved documentation of body mass index (BMI) and BMI percentile, from 38% to 94% and 25% to 89% respectively. Over 80% of providers and parents reported using and discussing the 5-2-1-0 topics and improvements were seen in physicians' knowledge about children's weight and identifying children at risk to becoming overweight.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Maine-Harvard Prevention Research Center, Maine Center for Public Health, Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Primary Contact
Michele Polacsek
(207) 221-4466
mpolacsek@une.edu
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research/prc/projects/...
Topics
Health / Physical Activity
Health / Children's Health
Health / Wellness & Lifestyle
Organization(s)
Maine-Harvard Prevention Research Center, Maine Center for Public Health, Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Source
CDC Prevention Research Center
Date of publication
Jun 2009
Date of implementation
2004
Location
Maine
For more details
http://www.cdc.gov/prc/prevention-strategies/notab...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19470601
Target Audience
Children, Families
Additional Audience
Physicians

Related Promising Practices

  1. CHOPPS: Preventing childhood obesity by reducing consumption of carbonated drinks
  2. Health Education to Reduce Obesity (HERO)
  3. Promoting Water Consumption in Schools to Prevent Overweight
  4. Text4Diet: A Text Message-based Intervention for Weight Loss
  5. Mass in Motion
  6. Obesity: Multicomponent Interventions to Increase Availability of Healthier Foods and Beverages in Schools

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Related Content for: Maine Youth Overweight Collaborative

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.