Healthy Lifestyle Program
This family-based program is for children and young people affected by higher weight who are wanting to make healthy lifestyle change.
We are looking for families in the East Metropolitan region (see attached list of suburbs) who would like to participate in a new pilot program. It’s open to children and young people aged 4 to 16 years.
What does the program involve?
Your child or young person will need a referral from you, a health professional, or other professionals involved in their care.
After we receive the referral, one of our Healthy Lifestyle Coordinators will contact you. They will make an appointment to do a healthy lifestyle check at the child or young person's home. The assessment takes about 1.5 hours.
Our team, which includes a range of health professionals, will look at the results from this check to understand how we can best support healthy lifestyle change in each family.
Children and young people will then be invited to attend a group session with you in the community, once a week for around 6 months.
- There will be fun nutrition, physical activity, and wellbeing activities.
- Sessions run after school in term time.
- You will receive practical information on how to make whole-of-family healthy lifestyle changes.
- They will be run by health professionals, including a dietitian, physical activity coordinator, and psychologist.
- The sessions are designed for children and young people to attend together with a committed parent or caregiver.
- We will offer repeat health checks at your home, 6 and 12 months after the first check, before referring back to your GP.
Who is it for?
The program is offered to all children and young people:
- Aged 4 to 16 years
- Living in the East Metropolitan region (see the attached list of suburbs)
- With the consent and support of their parent or legal guardian
- Above a healthy weight:
- Note to health professionals – our service criteria are either:
- ≥95th percentile, or
- ≥85th percentile with weight-related health conditions.
- Note to health professionals – our service criteria are either:
Is there a research component with this program?
Yes. For this program to be evaluated, and for us to advocate for children and young people, this program has a research component. More information will be provided and explained to families who are referred to the program. This research has ethics approval from the Child and Adolescent Health Service HREC on (RGS0000006244), the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (HREC 1292), and Curtin University (HRE2024-0066).
How can I get referred?
If you are interested in the program and you are a parent or legal guardian, you can refer your child or young person using the referral form.
Health professionals or other professionals involved, including nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals, can also refer a child or young person, with the consent of the parent or legal guardian.
Fill in the Healthy Lifestyle Program form and email it to the Healthy Lifestyle Program team.