Childhood obesity has now become an epidemic among young people and it is estimated to increase over 10% by 2020. Oregon is currently ranked 14th in the nation for childhood obesity. In 2009, there were combined 26.7% of Oregon children who were considered either overweight or obese. Currently there is no consistency among providers on how to treat and counsel this increasing epidemic which is at its worse in the rural communities. There is a greater need of organizational change since this clinic is in rural Oregon and the availability to refer patients out to specialist and/or nutritionist is increasingly difficult. Counseling on diet and exercise rests on providers during well-child exams, thus having an educational brochure to facilitate discussion increases provider/patient relationship and knowledge. Objectives of this project was to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of a brochure on the Traffic Light Diet (TLD) with children who are at the 80% of higher of body mass index in a rural pediatric office in Eastern Oregon.
