Kaiser Permanente Northwest leads nation in counseling against childhood obesity

Kaiser Permanente Northwest leads the nation among all reporting commercial health plans with top marks in counseling children for physical activity and nutrition, according to the National Committee on Quality Assurance's Quality Compass for 2010.

"Childhood obesity is the leading threat to our children's health," said Dr. Keith Bachman, director of the Weight Management Institute at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. "Clinicians play an important role in monitoring weight status. They also give advice about healthy eating and physical activities, and they help families make these changes long term."

Kaiser Permanente physicians track their young patients' weight status at each office visit. When their Body Mass Index is not appropriate for their age, the physicians have detailed conversations with the children and their parents. With America facing a childhood obesity crisis, Kaiser Permanente clinicians have long believed that raising awareness about the need for a healthy lifestyle is critical.

Through its Community Benefit efforts, Kaiser Permanente is very active in building healthy communities and educating the public about its Healthy Eating Active Living program. For example, Kaiser Permanente has been a key sponsor of Portland's hugely popular Sunday Parkways program, which encourages the public to walk or bike together.

NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and manages the evolution of the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) the performance tool used by more than 90 percent of the nation's health plans. Consumers can easily access the organization's NCQA accreditation, certification statuses, recognition statuses, and other information on health care quality on NCQA's website at www.ncqa.org/reportcards.aspx, or by calling customer support at 1-888-275-7585.

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente