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Local family's simple changes featured in Parents magazine
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Morganne Evans, 7, has stabilized her weight with a combination of physical activity and healthy food choices. Examples are fruits and vegetables for snacks instead of chips and smaller portions.
BOARDMAN
The Evans Family of Boardman and the “simple changes” they made as a family aimed at losing weight and getting healthier attracted national attention.
Mike and Marianne and their children, Meganne, Morganne and Mitchell, are featured in the August 2012 issue of Parents magazine in an article about children who need to lose weight to improve their health.
A routine well-check for then 6-year-old Morganne with her pediatrician, Dr. Dianna Tolen of Kids First Pediatric Care in Canfield, was the impetus for a lifestyle change for the entire family.
Morganne had gained 14 pounds each year from check-ups between age 3 to 4 and 4 to 5 and at 6 weighed 75 pounds.
Her body mass index, a ratio of weight to height to determine if children are overweight, was in the 97th percentile and she had borderline high blood pressure.
Concerned that Morganne might need to have cholesterol-lowering medication in the future, Dr. Tolen referred them to Dr. R. Peter Vande Kappelle Jr., a pediatric cardiologist at Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley. The cardiologist said Morganne needed to make healthier lifestyle choices with diet and exercise immediately.
The thought that Morganne possibly would need cholesterol lowering medication more than got Marianne’s attention.
“I know adults who have trouble handling cholesterol-lowering medication. I said I’d do anything other than that,” said Morganne’s mother, a registered nurse with the Mahoning County District Board of Health.
So the whole family bought into Dr. Vande Kappelle’s program, which is not a diet but a group of lifestyle choices in food and activities.
They also received help from Kate Lorenz, the diet-itian in Dr. Vande Kappelle’s office.
In Morganne’s case, the goal is to maintain weight as she grows taller which should result in a lowered BMI, Dr. Vande Kappelle said.
It’s working.
At 6, Morganne, now in the second grade at Stadium Drive Elementary School, weighed 75 pounds.
A year later her weight stabilized at 76 pounds.
Marianne, who is herself overweight, said her own blood work results all returned to normal with exercise.
“We made changes as a family, not just Morganne, so she would know she was not in this alone,” her father, Mike, said.
Meganne, 11, a sixth grader at Boardman Glenwood Middle School, slim to begin with, lost 3 pounds over a year under the new eating and activity regime, which initially concerned her parents and Dr. Tolen.
But her weight stabilized and the weight loss apparently has done no harm.
The changes made were simple things such as reducing portion sizes and making better food choices, said Mike, human resources and operations manager for Kohls at Shops at Boardman Park.
For example, the kids are offered skim milk and Capri Sun Roaring Water instead of pop or juice boxes.
“It’s about portion sizes and good nutrition choices, an exchange, for example, of yogurt for ice cream or fruits and vegetables in lieu of chips or water for soda,” said Dr. Vande Kappelle.
It also is important to keep temptations out of the house, the doctor said.
“We still have cookies in the house and still have cake for birthdays,” Marianne said.
But she said she put all of the temptations in a locked cabinet.
It is important to take baby steps, go one step at a time and set attainable, sustainable goals, the doctor said.
The Evans Family took that advice to heart, and everybody got involved, even little Mitchell, 3.
But there was and is nothing easy about it, said Mike and Marianne.
“I haven’t been monitoring my weight, but food choices are difficult,” Mike admitted.
“Some things I was eating weren’t good for the kids. I had to set an example.”
The family also added the ingredient of exercise, with a goal of one hour of physical activity a day.
They take family bicycle rides and installed an above-ground pool and an elaborate swing and slide set in the backyard.
The family project even has affected the kids’ grandparents, John and Mary Ann Lapinski and Donald and Barbara Evans, all of Boardman.
“Grandparents love them and want to treat them. But after seeing the article in Parents magazine, my mother sent over fruits and vegetables and asked ‘how’d I do,’” said Marianne.
The Evanses say they have had a lot of positive feedback from the article.
“One of the best responses was from a cousin who said the article gave her inspiration to help her children. The whole point of putting ourselves out there in Parents was to help other families,” Marianne said.