Blue Cross And Blue Shield of Kansas City Launches Pediatric Partnership to Combat Childhood Obesity - June 2010

June 09, 2010

The Good Health Club Physician Toolkit^SM Newest Blue Cross and Blue Shield Effort to Curb the Rise in Diabetes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Susan M. Johnson
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
816.395.3566
Susan.johnson@bcbskc.com

WASHINGTON—In collaboration with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and Blue companies nationwide, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City today launched the Good Health Club Physician Toolkit^SM—unique educational materials designed to foster better communication between pediatricians and their patients on childhood obesity and diabetes prevention. The toolkit will be available to pediatricians in the greater Kansas City area in time for back-to-school physician visits prior to the 2010-2011 school year.

The toolkit, developed in consultation with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), also builds on materials that Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies have successfully used across the country to encourage healthy choices and behaviors for children. The toolkit is available in both English and Spanish and contains tip sheets, wall posters, physician reference materials, tracking sheets, and brochures with educational information.

"Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City was one of five Blue plans that helped develop, then pilot, the toolkit. As Kansas City's only local health insurer, we've been instrumental in providing innovative programs to help address childhood obesity and diabetes in our area," said Tom Bowser, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. "The launch of The Good Health Club Physician Toolkit takes the fight against childhood obesity to a new level, by providing pediatricians with essential tools to encourage lifelong healthy living habits for America's youth."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the last two decades type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency. One in three U.S. children born in 2000 could develop diabetes during their lifetime and the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years, going from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 17 percent in 2006.

The Good Health Club Physician Toolkit features messages from the "Good Health Club," a group of animal characters that encourages children to:

• Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day
• Limit screen time to 2 hours or less
• Get at least 1 hour of physical activity
• Limit sweetened drinks to 0

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City has pioneered several programs in our community to help families exercise regularly and take charge of managing their overall health and well-being. A just-released compendium - Commitment to the Next Generation of Healthy Americans - details how Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and other Blue plans are leveraging local partnerships to build, design and support programs that target obesity and diabetes prevention.

To view the Good Health Club Physician Toolkit and for more information about what the Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are doing in their communities to combat childhood obesity and diabetes, please visit www.bcbs.com/goodhealthclub

Click here to learn more about the Commitment to the Next Generation of Healthy Americans.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in the state and the only not-for-profit health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage to nearly one million residents in the greater Kansas City area and Northwest Missouri. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on our company, visit our website at www.BlueKC.com. Our mission statement: We will use our role as the area's leading health insurer to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health and wellness of our members.

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