Weight Management Program

If you are one of the many Americans struggling to achieve a healthy weight, know that good management and active involvement in your health care decisions will help you make the changes necessary to lead a healthier life. Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania offers a Weight Management Program for obese adults and overweight or at risk children.

As a nation, we are in the midst of an epidemic of poor nutrition and physical inactivity. The increased health risks of obesity include heart disease, diabetes mellitus and stroke.

Adults
A quick way to determine if you are considered obese is to find out if your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or greater. BMI represents the ratio of your body weight to your height.

An adult’s BMI is equal to 30 if:

Children
To determine if you should be concerned about your child’s weight, you will need to know your child’s BMI — for-age percentile. You can have this percentile calculated by your child’s doctor, a school nurse, or by calling our licensed registered dietitian.

A child is considered at risk for being overweight:

• If the BMI-for-age falls between the 85th and 94th percentile.

A child is considered overweight:

• If the BMI-for-age falls at the 95th or greater percentile.

Our weight management program is focused on helping both adults and children who fall into the ranges listed.

For more information, or to enroll in our Weight Management Program, call a Weight Management Program Care Coordinator toll-fee at 1-866-262-4764, weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For important information on weight management, click here.

To view the spring Weight Management newsletter, click here.

To view previous newsletter issues, click here.