Healthy Family: About the Program

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Are you interested in participating in a healthy family group session? If so, click here to find out more about the program.

If you would like to help bring the healthy family program to your area, you can print an information sheet for your physician, health care provider or hospital community health educator.

Click here for a special message from Dr. Gretchen Hoyle, Pediatrician and co-creator of the Healthy Family Program.Or Find out how to make the Healthy Family Program available to families in your area.

If you are a Health Care provider in the Forsyth County area click here for our local program schedule. Click here to refer a patient/family.

Implementing our curriculum is easy and effective. We train your staff, provide materials, and support your program from start to finish. Learn how it works.

Dr. Hoyle is in private practice at Forsyth Pediatrics at Medical Park in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She has a special interest in caring for overweight children and adolescents in her clinic. If you are interested in having your child evaluated by Dr. Hoyle, call Forsyth Pediatrics at Medical Park at 336-277-1600. Click here to find out more about the practice.

The Healthy Family Program was created in 2002 by a Pediatrician and a Counselor to help overweight adolescents and their families make better choices with regard to nutrition and exercise.

The Philosophy of the Healthy Family Program is simple…

It All Adds Up

Making a series of small, permanent changes in your lifestyle will result in improved health and weight loss.

Small Changes

We teach our participants how to eat a healthy amount of food everyday. We do not endorse “undereating” or “crash” dieting.

We teach our participants how to get an appropriate amount of exercise everyday.

Permanent Changes

We teach our participants how to make changes in their homes and routines that will help them stick to their plan.

The Components of the Healthy Family Program
We help participants meet their goals through:

1. Education

a. Personal Education – every participant learns about their individual body through recommendations about how much food is appropriate and how much exercise is needed.

b. Group Topics – parents and adolescents learn about specific topics in separate groups each week.

2. Peer Support – overweight adolescents are encouraged to share their feelings, develop strategies, and form friendships in a supportive environment

3. Family Involvement – parental involvement in the program is essential. Parents learn the principles of good nutrition and exercise, strategies for helping their kids, and provide support for each other.

Healthy Family is a 12-week program.

Each meeting consists of:
Private Weigh In		15 min
Whole Group Celebration		15 min
Small Group Discussion Session		30 min

Group Topics:
1. Getting Started
2. The Importance of Nutrition
3. What Motivates You?
4. A Healthy Home
5. Healthy Lunches and Snacks
6. The Truth about Fast Food
7. The Importance of Exercise
8. Incorporating Exercise into a Busy Lifestyle
9. Goal Setting and Maintaining Motivation
10. How Weight Can Affect Your Health
11. Conflicting Cultural Messages
12. Keeping Momentum and Overcoming Obstacles

We realize that lifestyle change requires ongoing support. Once families have completed the 12 week curriculum, they are invited to attend continuation group meetings. The continuation group meets twice a month.

	Access your sustaining materials, sample curricula, reports, or physician information here.