Who We Are
Generation Health Clinic is a family-centred healthy living program for children and teens aged 6-17 living with obesity or overweight and presenting with specific comorbidities.
What We Offer
The program is delivered by a team of doctors, dietitians, mental health professionals who provide medical, nutrition, and mental health assessment and care. Exercise specialists support families with their physical activity goals.
The program offers culturally adapted care at select locations for families of South Asian and Chinese backgrounds.
Our Approach
We tailor our approach to the unique needs of the pediatric population to support growth and development.
We work with families to make healthy living changes that are meaningful to them.
Our Framework
Generation Health Clinic incorporates evidence-based, current best practices guided by Canadian nutrition and physical activity recommendations and medical and psychological standards.
Our research team collaborates with academic partners to contribute to the pediatric literature and knowledge base for supporting children and teens in making healthy living changes to improve health outcomes and reduce comorbidities.
Generation Health Clinic Goals
Weight loss is not the goal of our program. The goal is to support the child’s overall health and development by:
- improving physical health, emotional health and quality of life;
- supporting families;
- promoting functioning; and
- setting the stage for healthy living in adulthood.
Generation Health Clinic Outcomes
The 10-week group program builds foundational knowledge and skills to establish a balanced approach to eating, physical activity, mental health, sleep, and screen use. The group program also provides opportunities for enjoyable physical activity in a supportive setting. All group sessions are facilitated by a registered dietitian, a mental health professional, and an exercise specialist.
At the end of group program, participants report changes in the following:
Nutrition
| Mental Health
| Physical Activity
|
Sleep Hygiene
| Screen
| Supporting and Sustaining Change
|
FAQ for Health Professionals
Our interdisciplinary team consists of physicians, registered dietitians, and mental health professionals (which may include a Registered Psychologist, Registered Social Worker, or Clinical Counsellor). Our team will meet with your patient and their family during the initial intake appointment for a comprehensive medical, psychosocial, nutrition, and healthy living assessment. In collaboration with your patient and their family, we will develop an individualized care plan, which may include an invitation to participate in our 10-week group healthy living program. We may also refer to appropriate specialists or community resources when indicated.
While each family’s journey through the program is unique, families are typically enrolled in Generation Health Clinic from several months to a year, with some post-program support offered. We provide a discharge report with recommendations for follow-up to ensure continuity of care for your patients. We do not provide long-term follow-up. However, our team is available for consults as needed. After discharge, we welcome re-referral if your patient continues to meet eligibility criteria.
The goal of our short-term program is to improve the physical, metabolic, and emotional health of the child/teen and to reduce their risk of chronic disease. This is achieved by supporting healthy living changes within the family. Past evaluations of our program show changes in the following:
- increase in physical activity and vegetable intake
- decrease in sedentary behaviour, recreational screen time, sugary drink consumption, processed foods, and/or packaged meals
- reduction in BMI z-score and fasting insulin
- improvement in physical health, psychosocial health, self-concept scores, anxiety scores, and total quality of life scores
Weight loss is not an expected program outcome. Rather, Generation Health Clinic helps support a gradual return to healthy growth trajectories.
This was a fun family program that helped our child get excited about their health and activity.
