MIGHTY is Baystate Health's pediatric weight management program that stands for Moving, Improving and Gaining Health Together at the YMCA.
WESTFIELD -- The Greater Westfield YMCA is partnering with Baystate Health and Kohl's Cares to bring the MIGHTY program to the city.
MIGHTY is Baystate Health's pediatric weight management program that stands for Moving, Improving and Gaining Health Together at the YMCA. It has operated in Springfield since 2007.
YMCA of Greater Westfield Fitness Director Cindy Agan said the local Y has been communicating with the Baystate Health's MIGHTY team, striving to form a partnership to continue the growth of the program.
"Thanks to the support of a Kohl's Cares Grant, Baystate is able to expand the program to the Westfield YMCA," Agan said. "By offering the program at alternative sites, Baystate Health can enroll 25 percent more participants over the next 24 months while making it logistically easier for them to participate and setting them up for success to achieve their health goals."
The Westfield program will have two sessions. The first begins Feb. 8 for youth ages 10-13. The second is a summer session for children ages 8-10.
MIGHTY is an evidence-based multi-component pediatric weight-management program aimed at obese children ages 5-21. Participants attend 14 two-hour sessions over a six-month period during which children and their families engage with exercise specialists, dieticians, psychologists and social workers in classroom instruction, hands-on cooking and group and individual exercise sessions.
"The program is important on many levels," Agan said. "It addresses the immediate concern of engaging children in exercise and identifying and learning healthy eating habits, all within a safe non-judgmental environment."
Classes also include parent and family involvement, leading to comprehensive behavioral change that supports healthy eating and physical activity habits with all household members.
Dr. Chrystal Wittcopp, medical director of the Pediatric Weight Management Program at Baystate Children's Hospital, said childhood obesity is an epidemic in the U.S.
"Twenty-five percent of children in the Pioneer Valley are considered obese, Wittcopp said. "That means they have a body mass index that puts them at increased risk as they enter adulthood for diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, gallbladder disease, asthma and bone and joint problems.
"Already we are seeing more and more youngsters developing Type II diabetes, which is commonly developed by overweight adults," Wittcopp said.
"I can't say enough about how the MIGHTY Program has made a difference in the lives of those obese children who have enrolled in classes along with their family members," she said.
Bringing the program to Westfield is a way to reach out to the community, Agan said.
"MIGHTY is just another way of saying we're more than a gym, we're a cause," she said.
To be eligible for the MIGHTY Program, participants must have a body mass index above the 95th percentile and a medical clearance form from their pediatrician.
To sign up for the free program, call Agan at 413-568-8631.