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Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway offers SHAPEDOWNŽ, the nation's leading weight management program for children and adolescents for over 20 years.
SHAPEDOWN was developed by faculty members of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and includes contributions from nutrition, exercise physiology, endocrinology , psychology, family therapy, adolescent medicine, family medicine and behavioral and developmental pediatrics. SHAPEDOWN is continually reviewed and revised to ensure that it reflects current scientific and clinical understandings.
Children and teens in SHAPEDOWN enhance their self-esteem, improve peer relationships, adopt healthier habits and begin to normalize their weight within their genetic potential. Parents feel better about their parenting and about their child. The family becomes healthier and closer. The results of SHAPEDOWN go far beyond weight.
SHAPEDOWN is Family-Based
Pediatric obesity research has shown that family-based treatment is effective even at 10-year follow-up. Treatments that don't target the family have no long term significant effects. SHAPEDOWN is family-based and targets overweight, nutrition and activity in both child and parents.
Addresses Underlying Factors
SHAPEDOWN incorporates into obesity treatment a broad range of family therapy and psychoeducational techniques to address underlying psychosocial correlates of the child or adolescent's weight. Included are problem solving, assertive and emotionally expressive communication and parenting skills including limit-setting and nurturing techniques. In addition, cognitive therapy, stress management techniques and body image therapies are used. Together these techniques create the intimacy and safety children need to stop their excessive appetites for food and inactive pursuits.
Preventive
SHAPEDOWN's dietary recommendations are consistent with the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowances and the National Cholesterol Education Project Guidelines. The recommendations for physical activity include increasing daily endurance activities, enhancing overall activity levels through chores, interests and social activities and decreasing sedentary pursuits such as television viewing. Additional food behaviors targeted include eating regular meals and eating in response to hunger and satiety.
Sensitive
Respect for the individual and the family is inherent in SHAPEDOWN. The whole child is addressed, rather than just the obesity. Each level stresses the psychosocial issues pertinent at that stage of development. SHAPEDOWN integrates ethnic, cultural and economic differences into its content.
Effective
SHAPEDOWN VALIDATION RESULTS
(As published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Vol. 87, No. 3)
SHAPEDOWN was shown to produce significant long term outcomes in a controlled study of 66 adolescents followed for 15 months in diverse sites in California. Subjects were randomly assigned to test or control groups. The test group received the group application of SHAPEDOWN. The control group received no treatment. There were no significant differences between groups in any of the variables studied at the beginning of the study. The data were analyzed using paired t-tests. The SHAPEDOWN group at the end of treatment (3 months) and at one year follow-up (15 months) significantly decreased relative weight and significantly improved weight related behavior, self-esteem, depression and knowledge. The control group made no significant improvement in any of these variables except self-esteem. This study demonstrates the short and long-term effectiveness of SHAPEDOWN.
For more information about the program, call 732-499-6109.
The first SHAPEDOWN program meets April 10, 2008 at the RWJ Rahway Fitness & Wellness Center, 2120 Lamberts Mill Road, Scotch Plains. The price is $250 per family up to two children, $25 for each additional child. Because it is family based, one or both parents or guardian participates in each session.
Group size is limited to ensure individual attention.
Our program is led by a Registered Nurse, a Registered Dietitian and an Exercise Physiologist affiliated with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway.
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