The Maine Youth Overweight Collaborative (MYOC) is a joint initiative of the Maine–Harvard Prevention Research Center and the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) aimed at improving care and outcomes for overweight and obese youth. MYOC applies community based research principles in developing materials for parents and clinical care providers around reducing television viewing and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables. MYOC has reached an agreement with the National AAP to market and promote internationally the Pediatric Obesity Clinical Decision Support Chart.

The Pediatric Obesity Clinical Decision Support Chart is part of a tool kit, called Keep ME Healthy, developed by MYOC to provide practical support and guidance to health care practices, organizations, and individuals across the state in order to improve clinical practice and to improve quality of life for youth and families, particularly the uninsured and underserved. The clinical decision support chart provides clinicians with practical, point-of-care guidance on childhood obesity and tools for clinicians to use with children and parents during office visits and is available in four languages. The international promotion of the clinical materials used in MYOC by the AAP indicates both substantial impact in the rural state and important gains in knowledge of effective strategies for delivering primary care prevention.  

Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For more information, contact Michele Polacsek.

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