Celebrating our successes and having fun at our annual holiday party
Because Nothing Should Weigh a Child Down
Author: livelight
Live Light Live Right Celebrate Weight Loss Success at their Annual Holiday Party
Press Release
Brooklyn, NY(January 17th, 2014)-Live Light Live Right (LLLR), an adolescent obesity program, funded by Robinhood Foundation www.robinhood.org, held their annual holiday party Friday January 17th at Brookdale Hospital Center www.brookdalehospital.org. Nearly 200 hundred children and their families attended to celebrate the achievements and successes of those who have joined LLLR on this journey to promote health and fitness that have transformed their lives. The event celebrated the success of the children who have lost weight and remained committed to the program. Additionally, children who had the highest show rate at their exercise classes were rewarded. The children and their families enjoyed an evening of food, games, fitness and dance competition. Healthy food was prepared by the chefs at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, which included nutty chick pea quinoa salad, grilled barbeque chicken and a low fat lasagna to name a few of the menu items. Robinhood Foundation, graciously donated the gifts that were given out to our children. “We are commited to providing them with all the tools necessary to keep them on track on their journey to a healthy.”, stated Sarita Dhuper, Executive Director.
About Live Light Live Right
Live Light, Live Right is a Brookdale Hospital and community-based partnership, non-profit 501 ( c) (3), serving overweight and obese children ages 2-19. Nearly half of the children in the program are those who live below the poverty line; suffer from a BMI >95th percentile or are at high risk of developing diabetes or other serious chronic diseases. By providing free or highly subsidized services, Live Light has already helped over 2,500 children improve their diet, exercise habits, and their health. The novel, multi-disciplinary approach has resulted in positive health outcomes, including the reduction of Body Mass Index scores, cholesterol, blood pressure, and insulin levels for nearly three-quarters of all participants.
About Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center
The Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center is one of the largest voluntary nonprofit teaching hospitals and regional tertiary care centers. Brookdale provides general and specialized inpatient care to thousands of people every year. Our community centered organization provides numerous outpatient ambulatory care services in both on campus and off site facilities. Our mission is the commitment of being the focus of a healthy community, stressing the organization’s values of caring and respect for everyone.
Press Contact:
Alisha Rappaport
Director of Marketing and Development
Alisha@livelight.org
516-984-6865
Website: www.livelight.org
Twitter: @livelightright
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/live-light-live-right
Facebook: www.facebook.com/livelightright
LLLR Receives $35,000 Grant for Volunteer Program
We are thrilled to announce that we received a $35,000 Health Care Improvement grant from the United Hospital Fund, our first grant from the organization. The grant will help us promote voluntarism through our new Let’s Share Volunteer Program, which operates in conjunction with Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. Each year, Brookdale’s over 700 volunteers’ selfless contributions of time and energy help make a difference.
Daily Exercise Can Make All the Difference
With the holidays upon us, the risk of overeating and not exercising enough is huge. But a new study shows that even just a moderate amount of daily exercise can make a significant difference in longterm health. Continue reading →
Join Us for Our Holiday Party!
High blood pressure risk four times higher for obese kids
New research shows that overweight and obese children are at risk for developing high blood pressure as adults. Children who are overweight are twice as likely to develop the condition. And kids who are obese are four times as likely to develop it.
Participant of the Month: Ariana
When Ariana’s grandmother learned that her 9-year-old granddaughter was developing insulin resistance and would be prescribed medication, she rallied the support team together. She wanted to do everything she could to stop the disease process in its track and make sure Ariana would be healthy.
The family listened to the treatment teams’ advice to cut out excess sugar, eat plenty of vegetables, stop frying food and stop drinking juice. Ariana took more dance classes. And when she did a repeat blood test, she no longer needed to be on medication! This goal was reached because everyone in the family participated.
Ariana said it wasn’t hard, but her grandmother noticed that at times Ariana struggled with this new way of eating. Along with modifying her diet, Ariana continued to exercise at the BRC. Ariana fondly calls the BRC trainer Ebony “a pusher”. Ariana explained that Ms. Ebony “pushes me, but I love it.”
Ariana further explains that “To whom much is given much is required”. To Ariana, that means that if someone gives you the opportunity to do something you should push yourself and try your very best to succeed.
Happy Thanksgiving from All of Us at Live Light Live Right
From all of us at the Live Light Live Right program, Happy Thanksgiving! We hope this holiday is a joy for you and your families. We are so proud of the hard work the children in our program have done this year. And we are thankful to all our supporters who make our program possible.
Help Your Child Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
During the holiday season it is easy to pack on the pounds. Mixing large amounts of tempting food with time off from school to indulge in sedentary activities like watching TV and playing computer games can lead to unwanted pounds. With a little advance planning, you can help your child navigate the holiday season successfully. So what can you do to see that your kids enjoy this year’s festive season without gaining unnecessary weight?
Continue reading →
Dr. Dhuper Speaks at GNYHA Event
On Oct. 22, the Greater New York Hospital Association held its first learning session. The association focused on best practices in hospital/community-oriented childhood and adolescent obesity prevention and reduction initiatives. Five hospitals that have implemented evidence-based initiatives shared their interventions, including their evaluation efforts. Continue reading →
Mark Bittman on How to Feed the World Well
Food writer Mark Bittman offers a nuanced and complicated analysis of the persistent problem of global hunger and obesity in the New York Times. He takes a long, hard look at industrial agriculture and argues that the current model doesn’t work. Instead, we should consider using more traditional farming methods, which might be a better way to get food to more people. Here are some interesting experts from what he wrote:
The current system is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable, dependent as it is on fossil fuels and routinely resulting in environmental damage. It’s geared to letting the half of the planet with money eat well while everyone else scrambles to eat as cheaply as possible.
While a billion people are hungry, about three billion people are not eating well, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, if you count obese and overweight people alongside those with micronutrient deficiencies.
As Raj Patel, a fellow at the Institute for Food and Development Policy, puts it, “The playing field has been tilted against peasants for centuries, and they’ve still managed to feed more people than industrial agriculture. With the right kinds of agroecological training and the freedom to shape the food system on fair terms, it’s a safe bet that they’ll be able to feed themselves, and others as well.”
Yet obviously not all poor people feed themselves well, because they lack the essentials: land, water, energy and nutrients…. It’s a formula for making not only hunger but obesity: remove the ability to produce food, then remove the ability to pay for food, or replace it with only one choice: bad food.
Parents Are Key in the Fight Against Obesity
Parents play an important role in the fight against obesity. They shape their children’s behavior by direct influence, predisposing psychological variables or by controlling the child’s environment. In the fight against obesity, it is key that parents are involved.
Obesity rates have tripled in the past few decades and childhood obesity is global epidemic. In our practice, we see the effects the epidemic is having on children living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods like like Brownsville, East Flatbush and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Two out of every three children are overweight here, nearly three times the national average. The higher rates are caused by a combination of genetics and an environment where too many calories are consumed, children do not have enough opportunities to exercise and sedentary behavior is commonplace. Continue reading →