Because the Dooleys are an active family, they didn鈥檛 really notice that Stuart was gaining weight. 鈥淗e鈥檚 always exercised鈥攈e鈥檚 been swimming since he was very young鈥攁nd he鈥檚 always eaten whatever he wanted, just because the food was there,鈥 comments Heather. 鈥淗e never really thought about the food choices he was making. At school they always have junk food around鈥攁nd when they were around, Stuart would eat them.鈥 By the summer of 2002, the Dooleys finally noticed that Stuart had a real weight problem. 鈥淪ome friends of ours had gone through the Pediatric Weight Control Program聽(PWCP) with their son. They were very successful and suggested that Stuart try it,鈥 recalls Heather. 鈥淢y husband and I looked at each other and realized, all of a sudden, that our son was more than a little pudgy.鈥 A family-based, group behavioral program, the PWCP helps overweight children, adolescents and their families adopt and maintain lifelong healthy eating and physical activity habits. After finding that Stuart was 42% over the recommended weight for his height and build, which qualified him for participation in the program, the Dooleys were put on the waitlist and were accepted into the program in spring of 2003.
鈥淔or Stuart, the whole program was about awareness of how to make healthy food choices. It wasn鈥檛 mom and dad telling him what he could or could not eat. He had to internalize it himself,鈥 says Heather. 鈥淎nd, it isn鈥檛 a 鈥榪uick fix.鈥 It took work, it took time, and it wasn鈥檛 easy. They are really trying to change a lifestyle.鈥 The biggest challenge for the Dooley family was finding the best way to support Stuart in his weight loss goal by changing how the family ate. Says Heather, 鈥淢y husband and I tend to be able to eat what we want, so this forced me to re-evaluate the foods in the house and only have healthy food available. I also took a hard a look at recipes and what was really in them!鈥 For the Dooleys, the PWCP鈥檚 鈥淪top Light Program鈥 was the key to success. The program classifies foods in three categories: red-, yellow-, and green-light foods, based on the number of calories and nutrient values in the food.聽 鈥淲e鈥檝e never been a household with a lot of processed foods, but cookies, chips, candies鈥攖he classic 鈥榮nack鈥 foods鈥攚ere around all the time,鈥 remembers Heather. 鈥淚 went through the red-light food list, and I would just not buy red-light foods. And we got all the fat and sugar out of the house.鈥 Beyond eliminating the red-light foods, Heather had to replace these foods with healthy alternatives. 鈥淚 started to buy more fruits and vegetables,鈥 says Heather. 鈥淏ut just having them in the refrigerator doesn鈥檛 help: you have to make them accessible. You have to cut them up and put them out on the counter, which takes a lot of time. If you don鈥檛 have the healthy food prepared and ready for them to eat, kids won鈥檛 eat it. It鈥檚 not easy to keep your family eating healthy!鈥
聽At the end of the six-month program, Stuart lost 5.5% of his body weight and felt healthier. But now that they had the tools they needed, the family continued to make changes and see the results. Stuart now weighs 20% less than when he started the program and would no longer even qualify for the program. And he focuses on getting some exercise every day. 鈥淎s a family we are always asking each other 鈥榃hat exercise did you get today?鈥 so even if it鈥檚 shooting baskets for 15 minutes or walking around the neighborhood, he has to get out and do something,鈥 says Heather. 鈥淎nd he鈥檚 no longer the last kid running the mile in PE!鈥 Heather attributes the success of the program to the fact that Stuart had to take ownership of his weight鈥攁nd his eating decisions鈥攈imself. 鈥淚f we had tried to do this without PWCP, there would have been battles and resistance. With the PPWCP, we just provided the opportunity for him to learn from someone else. Stuart had to internalize the decisions about what food he ate so he realized it wasn鈥檛 really worth having that last brownie.鈥 When asked what he thinks makes the program work, Stuart says, 鈥淗aving the positive support from your parents or guardians is so important. It gets the entire family involved and you鈥檙e not just on your own. It takes work to stick with it and not give up, because you don鈥檛 see the results right away. But when I stuck with it, and started exercising more, the results came.鈥 Thanks to the PWCP, Heather says, 鈥淪tuart is now a phenomenally healthy, fit 9th grader. The program really helped nip this problem at an early age and set the stage for a healthy lifestyle. Now, Stuart is more careful about what he eats than we are!鈥
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