The Windsor Teen Girls Wellness Group: Group Visits As An Adolescent Obesity Intervention

Background: Overweight female adolescents represent a particularly challenging and vulnerable population due to their increased risk for obesity-related diseases and the association of higher BMI with poor body image and low self-esteem. Reviews of various childhood obesity interventions have demonstrated that clinic-based wellness programs led by a multidisciplinary team are successful in sustaining behavior modification. We have observed the need for such an intervention among low-income, minority adolescent girls at the Windsor Health Center in Cambridge, MA. Objective: To implement and evaluate the impact of a wellness program targeting overweight …