Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition

Offering a Comprehensive Approach to Weight Management

Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition

At the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, we offer families a comprehensive approach to weight management. The Center has programs for both the prevention and treatment of overweight children.

Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Health Care Delivery Award

Ihuoma Eneli, MD, MS, received the 2021 Health Care Delivery Award on behalf of The Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition.

The Award recognizes innovative, effective programs that support health care in a teaching setting.

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About the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition 

The Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition offers a comprehensive approach to weight management in children, including programs for both prevention and treatment.

In collaboration with other Ohio experts in nutrition, the Center works with physicians to present the Ounce of Prevention program to parents, providing a stepwise approach to establishing healthful food and activity habits early in life. As part of its commitment to prevention, the Center works closely with the Healthy and Fit Coalition to provide a coordinated approach to obesity in Central Ohio, with Action for Healthy Kids, a national and state coalition to optimize Ohio's schools in terms of nutrition and activity, with the United Way Health Vision Council, as well as with several other local organizations and agencies.

For children who are already overweight, the center offers family-based Medical Weight Management Programs, New U Flex, New U Weekly and New U Jr. covering everyday diet and fitness education to re-establish a more healthy weight. For those who have medical complications related to their weight, a more in-depth, long-term program is provided.

Ultimately, some children's complications may necessitate a surgical approach. The Center offers three options for those who meet the criteria, one using the traditional gastric bypass surgery to decrease stomach size and limit daily food intake; another uses the adjustable gastric band procedure which, through surgical placement of an inflatable cuff, circles the stomach to limit its size. A third procedure is known as gastric sleeve surgery and involves removing a large part of the stomach, and the remainder is closed to make a tube-like “sleeve."

Our Team

Our team of experts strives to guide children toward a healthier lifestyle.
Nationwide Children's Hospital Medical Professional

Ihuoma U. Eneli

Ihuoma Eneli, MD. MS. FAAP, is Director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital. She is a board certified general pediatrician and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Nationwide Children's Hospital Medical Professional

Marc P. Michalsky

Marc P. Michalsky, MD, is Professor of Clinical Surgery and Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and serves as Surgical Director for the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Our Locations

At the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, we offer a comprehensive approach to weight management for children 2 years and older. We offer programs for both the prevention and treatment of overweight children in several locations.

Livingston Ambulatory Center

Livingston Ambulatory Center

Hilliard Close To Home Center

Hilliard

Westerville Surgery Center

Westerville Surgery Center

Meet Our Patients

At Nationwide Children's Hospital, we realize that emotional support is every bit as important as medical treatment. That’s why we want you to meet some of our patients who, like you, are dealing with the daily challenges of managing their weight.
Chloe's Story: Before Surgery

Chloe's Story: Before Surgery

The bariatric surgery journey is a long one. In chapter 1 of this three-part series, learn a little about Chloe - who she is, what motivated her to make this decision that will ultimately change her life, and how she and her care team prepared for months leading up to surgery day.

Chloe's Story: The Day of Surgery

Chloe's Story: Surgery Day

It's surgery day for Chloe in chapter 2 of this three-part series. After months of preparation involving both lifestyle changes and self-reflection, Chloe is ready for surgery. Dr. Michalsky will perform a robot-assisted gastric sleeve procedure. Watch at Chloe heads into the OR and hear what she has to say about her recovery.

Chloe's Story: After Surgery

Chloe's Story: After Surgery

Surgery is over and now Chloe begins the road to recovery in the last chapter of our three-part series. Aside from healing physically, it is important that she stick to the lifestyle changes and habits that her and her care team worked so hard to develop before surgery.

Chloe's Story: One Year Later

Chloe's Story: One Year Later

Catch up with Chloe as she returns to Nationwide Children's for her one-year checkup after surgery. Maintaining the healthy eating habits she learned before her gastric sleeve surgery hasn't always been easy, but it has helped her lose more than 100 pounds and live a happier, healthier life.

Casper M

Read Casper's Story

Name: Casper M.
Condition(s): High Triglycerides
Age Today: 26 Years

When you are 17, the last thing you should be worrying about is a potential heart attack. Yet one was possibly looming in Casper’s future. He was referred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for elevated Triglycerides – 3 times higher than normal.

Resources

Young Boy Sitting in cafeteria with water bottle and apple

Resources for Families

We have compiled helpful resources for parents and children including a medical glossary and articles about nutrition.

Smiling young girl in cafeteria

Resources for Professionals

The Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition has developed several tools intended to provide primary care physicians with practical guidance on the approach to the obese child.

Bariatric Microsite Screenshot

Online Information Sessions

These free sessions provide an overview of the bariatric surgery process at your pace. In our series of short videos, Marc Michalsky, MD, discusses the three types of weight loss surgery available for teens to combat obesity and the benefits, risks, advantages and disadvantages of each. Take advantage of our new online information sessions to start learning about bariatric surgery today!

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