Shining Stars: Empowering Kids to Embrace Healthier Living!

Through a non-diet approach, children acquire techniques and habits for managing their weight.

Kalina Brookfield

11:24 pm, Jan 21, 2025

Kalina Brookfield, Contributing Photographer

For the last 27 years, the Bright Bodies initiative at Yale has been combating childhood obesity in the New Haven area through a thorough healthy lifestyle program.

The Bright Bodies Program, which conducts several 10 to 12-week sessions each year, involves children along with their families. The initiative employs the Smart Moves Weight Management Curriculum, a strategy for weight reduction that emphasizes knowledge-based behavior changes over dieting.

“We aspire to educate children on how to adopt lasting, healthy lifestyle modifications,” stated Mary Savoye-DeSanti, the founder of the Bright Bodies Program and creator of the Smart Moves curriculum. “We genuinely honor the background of each family and collaborate with the resources they possess.”

The Smart Moves curriculum comprises four elements: nutritional education, behavioral adaptation, physical activity, and parental involvement. Children participating in the program gather twice a week for exercise and classes. When appropriate, caregivers are urged to join their children in class and attend parent support groups.

The non-diet strategy of the program for weight management emphasizes imparting skills and behaviors that help children cultivate healthy habits and make improved food decisions in any context. Nutrition lessons are provided acknowledging that various families have diverse resources and food options available — the focus is on adaptability and progress rather than perfection.

“There’s a lot of support for parents, which is fantastic,” remarked Mark Ceneri, whose son is part of the program. “Raising kids is already challenging, and this adds another dimension to that complexity. It’s wonderful to share this journey with other parents and exchange ideas and strategies with them.”

The year’s final session was split into two segments — during the physical activity phase, children engaged in traditional physical education games like tag or sharks and minnows. In the nutrition education segment, children and caregivers learned how to read and understand nutrition labels.

Children were thrilled to run around with their peers and just as eager to answer questions during the class section, with an abundance of hands rising in response to every query.

Caregivers expressed that the program had positively influenced their own parenting approaches as well as their children’s attitudes towards food and nutritious eating.

“He’s far more mindful about what he consumes and the contents of his food,” said Willian Whitehead, referring to his 11-year-old grandchild enrolled in the initiative. “He loves it. He’s the one who reminds me to ensure we’re punctual getting here. He truly enjoys it.”

The meetings are hosted at the medical center located at 1 Long Wharf Drive.