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Overweight and Obesity in Kids and Teens
Resources for Families

Here you will find links to resources about care, services, and support and websites about overweight and obesity in kids and teens.

Care, Services, and Support

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Find a Registered Dietitian. Contact information for registered dietitians and registered dietetic technicians who are ADA members. The directory is searchable by state, zip code, type of service, and area of expertise.
  
  
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Pediatrician Referral Service. Online directory of pediatricians who are AAP members. Search by physician contact information and medical specialty/interest.
  
  
• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Find a Health Center. Search by address, city, state, or zip code to find a federally funded health center that provides free or low-cost care.
  
  
• Also see the Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families.
  

Websites

• Bright Futures Nutrition: Family Fact Sheets. Fact sheets with nutrition information in English and Spanish about babies, kids, teens, and young adults.
  
  
• CDC's Nutrition for Everyone: Healthy Weight. Information about achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. CDC also offers several websites about specific aspects of nutrition and physical activity:
  
  BAM! Body and Mind. Food and nutrition and physical activity advice for kids and teens.
  
  Body Mass Index (BMI) for Children and Teens. Information about BMI and how it is used, calculated, and interpreted for kids and teens. Calculate your child's BMI and percentile using the Child and Teen BMI Calculator.
  
  Rethink Your Drink. A list of the calories in popular drinks and suggestions for drinks with fewer calories.
  
  
• Childhood Obesity: What Families Can Do Together. Nutrition, physical activity, and weight-management tips for families. Includes a free online video game for kids in English and Spanish about healthy eating and activity choices.
  
  
• Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC). Articles about overweight and obesity in kids and teens. CNRC's Healthy Eating Calculator gives customized information about what and how much to feed a kid by entering the kid's gender, age, weight, height, and physical activity level. The calculator suggests amounts of the basic food groups, including fruits, vegetables, grains, milk products, lean meats and beans, and oils to be consumed each day, and guidelines for eating discretionary calories.
  
  
• ChooseMyPlate.gov. Information to help you make healthy food choices for you and your kids. Includes daily food plans for preschoolers, breastfeeding moms, and moms-to-be. Also links to an encyclopedia of food to find the calories and food group for a food or to compare two foods.
  
  
• Eat Smart. Play Hard. Ideas to help families eat better and be more physically active. Includes Spanish-language materials.
  
  
• girlshealth.gov: A Healthy Weight. Tips for girls ages 10–16 about healthy weight management. Links to a BMI calculator and nutrition and physical activity information.
  
  
• Let's Move. Tools for families, schools, and communities to help kids and teens be more active, eat better, and get healthy.
  
  
• Mayo Clinic: Healthy Lifestyle. A collection of articles about health promotion. Topics include fitness and nutrition for children and diet and weight loss in teens.
  
  
• MedlinePlus: Obesity in Children. Links to information in English and Spanish about kid and teen overweight and obesity.
  
  
• Tips For Parents: Ideas and Tips to Help Prevent Childhood Overweight. Information families can use to help reach or keep a healthy weight through physical activity and healthier food choices.
  
  
• We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition). Tips, activity ideas, and other information to assist parents and caregivers in helping the kids and teens ages 8–13 that they care for achieve and maintain a healthy weight by focusing on improved food choices, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time.
  
  
• Weight-control Information Network. Publications in English and Spanish about weight control, physical activity, and healthy food choices for kids, teens, and parents.
  

Learn more about overweight and obesity in kids and teens.

Overweight and Obesity in Kids and Teens: Family Resource Brief. (August 2010). (Updated: February 2012).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Library.
Reviewers: Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Library.