Pediatric Wellness and Weight Management Program
The Pediatric Wellness and Weight Management Program of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital1 provides compassionate and comprehensive family-based care for children and teenagers who are overweight or obese and want to achieve a healthier lifestyle.
Our dedicated team of pediatric weight management professionals will work with you and your child to create a personalized plan to assist weight loss, improve health and overcome obstacles that keep your family from living life to the fullest.
The Wellness and Weight Management Program will work with you and your child to address the different causes and effects of obesity. During the first appointment, the physician will complete a thorough medical review and evaluation, which will include lab work and a Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement. BMI is the number calculated from height and weight measurements to assess whether an individual has a healthy weight for his or her height.
Initial goals for behavior change and weight management will also be identified. We will work with your primary care physician to provide referrals for concerns that need specialty care. A dietitian will meet with you to discuss family eating habits and changes that can be made for weight loss success. The initial consultation usually lasts 2 to 3 hours, please plan accordingly.
Follow-up visits
After the first appointment and assessment, follow-up visits are scheduled regularly. Success takes time and effort, and the results vary by patient. The care team will provide education and resources to help all patients improve health habits such as choosing the right foods and exercise.
During the program, patients and their families learn to:
- Develop good exercise habits
- Reduce sedentary behaviors
- Identify and avoid high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, which include sugar and sweets, and sweetened beverages
- Make smart food shopping and restaurant meal choices
- Incorporate exercise into their daily routine.
We encourage your family to follow a healthy, balanced diet, which includes:
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
- Drink low-fat or non-fat milk
- Limit sugars and sweets
- Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages
- Choose whole grains
Related Resources
- Pediatric Specialist Directory for Central DuPage Hospital and Delnor Hospital: Find a Pediatric specialist.
- Pediatric Wellness and Weight Management Brochure
- Guide to Raising a Heart Healthy Child: English | Spanish
- Eat Right: Learn about family exercise, food preparation and tips from the Academy of Nutrition.
- Supertracker: Tool to track meals and activity, set goals and find recipes and ideas.
- Lurie Children's Wellness and Weight Management Program: Learn about the Wellness and Weight Management Program at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital and Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital is a collaborative program between Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Lurie Children's and its affiliated physician groups. The physicians participating in this program are neither agents nor employees of Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital or Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital.
The physicians who practice at the Northwestern Medicine Proton Center are neither agents nor employees of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare or any of its affiliate organizations. These physicians have selected our facilities as the place where they want to treat and care for their private patients.