App Helps Combat Childhood Obesity and Heart Disease

What better way is there to engage and teach children andtheir parents about staying healthy and fit than with an iPad? Mid ValleyFamily Practice, in Basalt, Colo., is doing just that in an effort to reducechild obesity and cardiovascular risks.

When children arrive at Dr. Glenn Kotz?s examination room,they are given an iPad, which they and their parents use to answer a series ofhealth-related questions, such as how often they eat snacks and consume sweetdrinks, and how often they exercise.

After answering the questionnaire, the Web-based applicationby HeartSmartKids analyzes the data and provides the doctor with a summary ofthe patient?s cardiovascular risk profile, which the doctor can print out. Thesummary includes the child?s body mass index, as well as recommendations for ahealthier lifestyle, such as reducing sweet drinks to one can a day.

?The tool engages the kids, and it gives me a wonderful pageof data to talk to their parents about recommendations,? Kotz says.

The clinical decision-support tool is the brainchild ofKevin Gilbert, CEO of HeartSmartKids. He uses Trellia software, now owned byWyse Technology, for mobile device management and security. ?I can configure aniPad remotely and lock it down, so children can access only that application,?Gilbert explains.