CNN's Gupta in Little Rock: Small changes to kids' diets can zap obesity

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta arrives at the Fifth Annual CNN Heroes: All-Star Tribute in Los Angeles. Monday Mornings, a TNT drama series debuting Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, is based on Guptas novel about physicians and the closed-door hospital meetings they take part in to discuss complications and mistakes in patient care. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2011 file photo, CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta arrives at the Fifth Annual CNN Heroes: All-Star Tribute in Los Angeles. Monday Mornings, a TNT drama series debuting Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, is based on Guptas novel about physicians and the closed-door hospital meetings they take part in to discuss complications and mistakes in patient care. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)

Arkansas Children's Hospital can play a key role in combating childhood obesity by using telemedicine and mobile care to reach patients, neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta said Tuesday in Little Rock.

Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, was the keynote speaker at the 2016 Anne Hickman Lectureship. He told a packed ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center that while childhood obesity may seem like "the new normal," small changes can lead to major improvements.

Thirty-six percent of Arkansas high school students were obese or overweight according to a 2015 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figure tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage in the country.

In the 2014-15 school year, roughly 39 percent of Arkansas public school students in kindergarten through 10th grade were overweight or obese, according to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement.

Gupta referred to a 2015 study that found that removing added sugars from a child's diet significantly reduced blood pressure and cholesterol within 10 days.

"[That's] something I think anybody can do," Gupta said. "That's a far more aspirational story. We need to be telling it."

Changing one's environment or disrupting a routine also can help, he said. Just like a recovering alcoholic may not crave a drink until passing a bar, sitting in the same place on the couch while watching television and eating ice cream can create a comfort zone that leads to poor habits.

Something as simple as using the opposite hand to eat with can bring the brain back into the process, Gupta said.

"You can do this with kids, disrupt their behavior," he said.

Gupta's appearance was part of the biannual speaker series started by longtime children's health advocate Anne Hickman. Hickman, who died in 2014, was the first woman to serve on the board of Arkansas Children's Hospital in 1975 and chaired the campaign to build the Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute.

Arkansas Children's Hospital, a 359-bed facility in Little Rock, has a pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center, Level 4 neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, and a burn center.

The hospital admits roughly 14,000 patients per year and conducts roughly 14,000 operations per year, said Marcy Doderer, president and CEO. Between 350,000 and 400,000 are served through outpatient services in clinics and other services across the state, she said.

Gupta said he believes the current trend in using technology to connect doctors and nurses with patients will only accelerate, and that it could be particularly beneficial in rural states such as Arkansas.

Telemedicine, or communicating with doctors and nurses by video screen, could advance to the point where doctors and nurses have access to patients' medical records, scans, vital signs and other information, he said.

"I think it's going to allow places like Arkansas Children's [Hospital] to... address more patients in a simpler way," Gupta said.

He credited the hospital for its recent efforts to reach out to patients across the state. Those efforts include recent grants to reach 44 schools through telemedicine, vans that provide mobile dental care, and school-based health centers and new facilities.

The hospital plans to build a clinic in southwest Little Rock and a 24-bed hospital in Springdale.

The model used to be "build it and they will come," but that philosophy has changed, Gupta said.

"Now they're saying, 'We built it, many came, but not everyone had a chance to get here. So we're going to take our awesomeness to the people who need it most all over the state," he said.

Doderer said the hospital's plans over the next few years mirror the trends Gupta addressed.

She said Arkansas Children's Hospital is somewhat unique among the nation's children's hospitals in that it has a large coverage area but a relatively small population.

"Our ultimate goal, really, is how do you keep a kid from having to drive to Little Rock," Doderer said. "How do you get as close to home in the right capacity and the right way for the families of Arkansas?"

Metro on 09/14/2016

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