Hi All,

Yesterday, I had a great interview with Dr. Lonna Gordon, about the work she does at Mount Sinai Hospital, working with children and adolescents around the issues of obesity, eating disorders, and good nutrition. The population she primarily works with are at-risk youngsters from lower income families, where food insecurity is a big problem, and where food choices are limited. When Dr. Gordon works with her clients, she likes to start by asking them what they ate, so that they can become more aware of their own food choices. Then she goes through the choices they made, and helps them find better choices, ones with less calories and more nutrition. The program at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center is called Teen Fit, and is open to any adolescent between the ages of 10-22, free of charge. In this program, the clients receive nutrition and wellness counseling, along with fun workouts and classes that include ZUMBA®, spinning and boxing. Dr. Gordon recognizes that eating is a social activity, and she is sensitive to her clients wanting to fit in, but she is also sensitive to the social and psychological implications that obesity can have on them, and wants to helps them navigate through those murky waters. Often, access to healthy foods in these communities is a challenge, and we need to work as a society, to change those policies. When I asked Dr. Gordon what organization she would recommend to my listeners, who might want to get involved in helping to change policies, she recommended the Citizens Committee for Children. Check them out, and if you missed our interview, you can listen to it here.