WeightSavvy

INTRODUCTORY LETTER

Welcome to WeightSavvy Teens & Kids! On behalf of Michelle Renard Good and the associates of WeightSavvy Teens & Kids, we want you to be first to hear about our new Canadian weight management and fitness program. A fully comprehensive weight management and fitness program uniquely design for Canadian teens and kids to successfully tackle the epidemic of childhood and adolescent obesity.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in Canada. They say that there is nothing that can be done. The problem is just too big, too diverse, and too complex. But we disagree. To halt this destructive course, requires a conscience choice to change the way we do things. Not on a global level at first, but at the grass roots, with individual families consciously choosing a healthier way of life. That’s why we are here, to change the face of obesity, one family at a time. To give families the tools they need to change the way they live their lives and to help to create a new generation of healthy teens and kids.

Here, you will find additional information on the company's mission statement, mandate, background, history and description of services, As well as, sample stories, testimonials, and a brief summary on why weight management is important to Canadians that includes the most recent statistics on childhood and adolescent obesity in Canada. Frequently asked questions and contact information can be found on the website.

COMPANY PROFILE

COMPANY MISSION STATEMENT

"To change the face of obesity one family at a time by inspiring and encouraging Canadian children, pre-teens, teens and their families to choose a healthier way of life that fosters a sustainable, life-long approach to maintaining healthy body and healthy balanced weight."

"To provide and make available to all the highest quality of paediatric weight management programming for children and adolescents across Canada."

"To enhance the lives of the families we meet."

COMPANY MANDATE

To provide a comprehensive weight management and fitness program based on holistic principles and methodology, to provide a knowledgeable and supportive team of facilitators and to provide an enriching and attractive facility for enthusiastically committed children, pre-teens, teens and their families to successfully reach a healthy balanced weight and to instill with “Clarity” the emotional, mental, physical and spiritual behavioral modifications to ensure the long term maintenance of that significant weight loss.

COMPANY BACKGROUND

WeightSavvy Teens & Kids was incorporated Montreal, Quebec in 2008 after the establishment of it’s newly developed weight management and fitness program to address the epidemic growth of childhood and adolescent obesity in Canada.

WeightSavvy Teens & Kids offers a comprehensive weight management and fitness program designed for children ages eight to eighteen.. Our team of knowledgeable staff specializing in nutrition, wellness and fitness provide weekly support, direction, and guidance to help families make manageable, healthy lifestyle changes to successfully tackle childhood and adolescent obesity.

WeightSavvy Teens & Kids has been expanding its role in major cities across Canada offering a myriad of professional weight management products and services to its patients and clients. The unprecedented need has been fueled by the demand for a competent, focused, professional and well managed organization capable of understanding the complexities of health offering practical alternatives and sensible solutions to tackle this current health epidemic.

COMPANY HISTORY

The company began with the simple idea of offering nutritional information and education to families in their homes. After working with families, it became overwhelmingly apparent that the real need was to help kids and teens lose weight. And so began the search for a weight loss program that would help families deal with this huge problem. With extensive research in 2000, it was obvious that there were tons of weight loss programs for adults, but only a handful of programs for teens and kids.

One of these programs, developed by a group of US clinicians in 1980’s, showed a history of positive results. The program was being offered by registered licensee, in private clinics and hospitals setting across the USA. So as a newly registered licensee, a paediatric weight management and fitness company was established in Toronto, Ontario in 2001 as part of The Clarity Health Group Ltd. Services were provided until 2004 when the company moved its offices to Montreal, Quebec.

One of the major drawbacks to the US based program was that most of the information was out-of-date, incomplete and based on the US Food Pyramid. The original authors had no intentions to revamp or up-date the program. A new approach was needed. So set the stage for the creation of the WeightSavvy Teens & Kids weight management and fitness program, clinics and website. WeightSavvy Teens & Kids was incorporated in Montreal, Quebec in 2008.

From the on-set it was clear that the program had to be Canadian, since there was nothing else available. It had to meet the needs of our multicultural communities, it had to represent all types of families of all socio-economic backgrounds and it had to be accessible to everyone that needed it. The WeightSavvy Teens and Kids weight management program was published in 2008 in a format that made it easy for families to follow at home. The program is also used at the WeightSavvy Teens & Kids clinics.

The program is comprised of twelve “building blocks to success” steps that provide participants with all of the information and tools that they need to successfully establish a health balanced weight. Each step is broken down into five parts called S.W.I.F.T. Progress; Savvy Solutions, Weekly Narrative, Insight, Food Essentials and Take the Challenge. These are followed by the Building on What You’ve Learned section which incorporates weekly planning, weekly goal setting, and a weekly recognition and rewards program.

Sassy Solutions outlines the theme of the step. The Weekly Narrative deals with a real life situation, faced by one of the four teenaged fictional characters in the case study and is designed to provide families with an opportunity to discuss topics, such as teasing, bullying, emotional overeating, boredom, etc. Each of the four characters represented a different ethnic community and either a two parent, single parent or blended family, so that the reader can relate to the characters. Insight provides the teen or child with an opportunity to learn more about themselves and to express his or her views and opinions. Food Essentials demystifies and answers virtually all questions and concerns about nutrition. Take the Challenge is a comprehensive physical fitness and exercise program that includes cardiovascular training, strength training, and flexibility training that can be done at home with or without equipment.

In addition to these sections, there is also a section specifically designed for parents that addresses issues, such as building self-esteem and self-confidence, establishing boundaries, enhancing communication with your child or teen, preparing well-balanced meals, choosing healthy take-out food, reading food labels and much, much more.

The WeightSavvy Teens & Kids program has received an enthusiastic and positive response. It is presently available in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. It is our intention to continue to establish weight management clinics across the country for families that need the support of our WeightSavvy consultants and to eventually establish a fully interactive membership-based website program to address the consultative needs of all Canadians in remote communities. In addition to the above, sports equipment, clothing and exercise videos will also be made available shortly.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES AND PRODUCTS

Family Manual and Guide: in-home self-administered weight management and fitness program resource material for clinical or website applications

WeightSavvy Teens & Kids Clinic:

Weekly individual weight management and fitness consultation

Weekly group weight management and fitness consultation

Weekly weight management and fitness consultation by phone

Fitness and Exercise Equipment:

Fitness and exercise DVDs,

Sports clothing, balls, mats, weights, equipment, etc

Other: homeopathic remedies and nutritional supplements

Charitable organizations: organization of the participation in walk-a-thons or run-a-thons

TESTIMONIALS

“This program has truly been a benefit to all of us, our daughter is so happy with the progress that she has made, losing weight, gaining muscle-tone, and enhancing her communication.” - Parent participant

“I had no idea that my daughter would do so will with this program. She actually enjoys shopping for clothes again.”- Parent participant

“This program is more than I had ever expected, you have changed my life”- Teen participant

“What a fantastic book, it has everything that I need. I had no idea that it would be this easy.”- Teen participant

WHY A WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND FITNESS PROGRAM IS SO IMPORTANT TO CANADIANS

The phenomenal rate of growth of paediatric obesity is unprecedented. Worldwide and Canadian statistics clearly demonstrate the overwhelming need for a comprehensive weight management program. According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that forty-two million children under the age of five are overweight, which is up from the previous estimate of twenty-two million overweight children under the age of five in 2007. Since overweight children are more likely to stay obese into adulthood the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders and certain types of cancer is significantly increased. Sources indicate that the long-term consequences of obese are significant; at least two point six million people die each year as a result of illness associated with being overweight or obese. In Canada, according the most recent Report Card on Physical Activity of Children and Youth 2010, fifteen point two percent of children aged two to five years old are overweight and six point three percent are obese. This is particularly concerning given that most infantile obesity persists into preschool and childhood years and these children are at a significantly higher risk of become obese as adults.

A study conducted by Statistics Canada in 2004 (Canadian Community Health Survey) reported that in 1978/79 twelve percent of children age two to seventeen were overweight, and three percent were obese, a combined rate of fifteen percent. By 2004, eighteen percent of children age two to seventeen were overweight (an estimate of 1.1 million), eight percent were obese (an estimate of 0.5 million), a combined rate of twenty-six percent. The most alarming statistic is that there has been a seventy percent increase in overweight teens (girls and boys statistics combined) since 1978/1979, and that obesity among this group had almost tripled. Even children under the age of two are also showing indications of a higher weight for height ratio. It is clear that if something drastic is not done, the trend will continue to escalate.

Of these groups, children aged two to five have a nearly zero percent rate of growth in obesity, perhaps due to the tremendous changes in growth and development particularly in the development of gross and fine motor skills. However, children aged six to eleven and twelve to seventeen have had the most significant rate of growth in obesity. The combined rate of overweight/obese adolescents more than doubled with combined rate twenty-six percent for children aged six to eleven and twenty-nine percent for adolescents aged twelve to seventeen. While prevention and intervention programs should be targeted to all, it is clear that initial programs should be targeted toward children ages eight to eighteen. The WeightSavvy Teens and Kids weight management and fitness program is designed to meet the needs of this prominent group. Here are other highlights of the Canadian Community Health Survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 2004.

In 1978/79 12% of children age 2-17 were overweight, 3% were obese

In 2004 18% of children age 2-17 were overweight, 8% were obese

In 1978/79 21% of children age 2-5 were overweight, 0% were obese

In 2004 15% of children age 2-5 were overweight, 6% were obese

In 1978/79 13% of children age 6-11 were overweight, 0% were obese

In 2004 18% of children age 6-11 were overweight, 8% were obese

In 1978/79 11% of teens age 12-17 were overweight, 3% were obese

In 2004 20% of teens age 12-17 were overweight, 9% were obese

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measurement tool used to classify individuals as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese. The average BMI for teens aged twelve to seventeen rose from 20.8 percent in 1978/79 to 22.1 percent in 2004. Many of these teens were well above the adult rates of twenty-four to thirty percent. Overweight teens are at a higher risk of adult obesity than any other age group. A BMI of twenty-five percent classifies adults as overweight. A BMI of thirty percent classifies adults as obese. Children’s rates are lower or higher and are dependent on age and gender.

The province with the highest percentage of overweight or obese children aged twelve to seventeen is Newfoundland and Labrador at thirty-six percent, the second highest percentage of overweight or obese is New Brunswick at thirty-four percent with Nova Scotia at thirty-two percent running a close third. The national average is twenty-six percent.

The two provinces with the lowest percentage of overweight and obese children aged twelve to seventeen are Quebec at twenty-three percent and Alberta at twenty-two percent. The other five provinces fall between twenty-six to thirty-one percent.

Screen time refers to watching television, playing video games or using the computer. Children aged six to eleven who indicated two or more hours of screen time each day were twice as likely to be over-weight or obese as those who indicated less than one hour of screen time. Thirty-five percent of teens aged twelve to seventeen that indicated thirty or more hours of screen time per week (about four hours per day) are overweight or obese compared to twenty-three percent that indicated that had less than ten hours of screen time per week (about one and half hours per day).

Twenty-nine percent of children and adolescences from middle-income families were overweight or obese, twenty-five percent from low-income families and twenty-three percent from high income families. A larger percentage of these children were overweight or obese when household members had no education beyond a high school diploma.

EDITORIAL/NEWS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Michelle Renard Good FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Telephone: 613 722 2272

Fax: 613 722 5182

Email: casalubris@rogers.com

Website: www.weightsavvyteensandkids.com

Changing the Face of Obesity One Family at a Time

WeightSavvy Teens & Kids introduces their NEW weight management program for teens and kids.

Montreal, Quebec. - January 5th, 2009; Over one third of Canadian teens and kids attempt to lose weight with dieting and fail miserably. Diets just don’t work and aren’t safe for teens and kids. WeightSavvy Teens & Kids want kids to stop dieting and starting eating health again.

WeightSavvy Teens and Kids just launched its new Canadian weight management and fitness program for teens and kids aged eight to eighteen. This twelve step weight management and fitness program creates a healthy lifestyle for the whole family while making it easy for teens and kids to achieve a healthy weight without restoring to the restrictive, detrimental effects of dieting.

WeightSavvy’s healthy eating guidelines make it easy for teens and kids to make the best food choices. Families are encouraged to eat a healthy well-balanced diet, eat smaller portions, and eat only when they feel hungry to curb overeating. Teens and kids get active again with the Take the Challenge fitness program that includes cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. A gradual increase in activity enables teens and kids to quickly shed unwanted weight while meeting Health Canada’s fitness guidelines.

A solid foundation of healthy lifestyle habits encourages teens and kids to grow into adulthood devoid of a lifelong struggle with weight. Teens and kids learn to live an active and fuller life so that television or other inactive pursuits become less important. They learn to share their thoughts and feelings so that emotional dependence on food is minimized. They feel confident and self-assured to deal with conflict such as teasing and bulling, and they feel comfortable with their body shape so that they are proud of who they are and what they look like.

Teens, kids and their parents are provided with a clear and concise understanding of how family dynamics, eating patterns, sedentary lifestyle, emotional stress, and external influences have contributed to the weight gain and are provide with all of the essential tools to successfully tackle childhood and adolescent obesity. To find out how your family can benefit from this program, get your own copy of the WeightSavvy Teens & Kids weight management and fitness program or book an appointment visit their website at www.weightsavvyteensandkids.com or call the clinic at 613.722.2272.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Michelle Renard Good FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Telephone: 613 722 2272

Fax: 613 722 5182

Email: casalubris@rogers.com

Website: www.weightsavvyteensandkids.com

Changing the Face of Obesity One Family at a Time

A New Weight Management and Fitness Program for Canadian Teens and Kids

Montreal, Q.C. – January 9th, 2009; Dieting is utterly futile. Most parents simply don’t realize that obesity is a labyrinth of complex and dynamic factors which are influenced by environmental, behavioural, physiological, social, and cultural causes.

WeightSavvy Teens and Kids weight management and fitness program was created to help Canadian families to achieve a clear and concise understanding of how family dynamics, eating patterns, sedentary lifestyle, emotional stress, and external influences have contributed to the development of their child or teen being overweight or obese. In order to find a solution to the problem, one must address the personal, emotional and environmental stresses that these children or teens experience that leads them to be overindulgent with food, unmotivated to participate in any form of physical activity and disinterested in maintaining a high standard of personal health. The WeightSavvy Teens and Kids weight management and fitness program is designed to tackle these issues.

Moreover, programs that just deal with diet or exercise, simply address only part of the problem. Canadian research has shown that programs that are centered on establishing a healthy lifestyle for the whole family are far more effective than programs that merely hand a child or teen a diet and exercise plan with the expectation that they will be able to manage the program independently. This family based all-inclusive weight management and fitness program encourages the whole family to actively participate in the program. It establishes a healthy dietary and exercise plan for the entire family, while creating an individualized program for the child and/or teen participant in the program.

Food Essentials demystifies and answers virtually all questions and concerns about nutrition. Take the Challenge is a comprehensive physical fitness and exercise program that includes cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility training that can be done at home with or without equipment.

Many families that have participated in the WeightSavvy Teens and Kids weight management and fitness program have indicated that it has changed their lives. This program recognizes the importance of identifying and meeting the personal, emotional and social needs of the child or teen, working together with the family and extended family, incorporating a healthy dietary intake plan, regulating the use of media, and increasing the amount of physical activity for both the family and the child or teen. All of which supports a more sustainable and successful approach to weight management.

So how do parents get the help they need? WeightSavvy Teens & Kids new comprehensive weight management and fitness program is designed to meet the needs of Canadian teens and kids who are struggling to maintain a healthy weight. To find out how your family can benefit from this program, get your own copy of the WeightSavvy Teens & Kids weight management and fitness program or book an appointment visit their website at www.weightsavvyteensandkids.com or call the clinic at 613.722.2272.

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Michelle Renard Good FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Telephone: 613 722 2272

Fax: 613 722 5182

Email: casalubris@rogers.com

Website: www.weightsavvyteensandkids.com

SIX FACTORS THAT FUEL OBESITY IN TEENS AND KIDS

POOR DIET AND LACK OF EXERCISE MAKE UP ONLY TWO

January 8th, 2008, Montreal, QC, Canada; Twenty-five percent of Canadian teens and kids are either overweight or obese. Although efforts are being made to educate and inform Canadians on the importance of raising healthy active children, the problem still seems insurmountable, until now. Most of the current information is directed at poor eating habits and lack of physical activity; however, this is not enough. To make significant strides in approaching the solution to the problem, Canadian families need to address and modify all six factors that fuel childhood or adolescent obesity.

Obesity is a family problem, unlike other childhood diseases that affects only the individual child or teen. For teens and kids to grow healthy and strong, devoid of a lifetime struggle with weight, it’s essential that parents provide them with: 1. strong, supportive nurturing, 2. effective limit setting, 3. a means to create a healthy self-image and body pride and 4. a healthy lifestyle - in addition to healthy balanced eating habits and the opportunity to be physically active.

The challenge for families is how to integrate all of these factors within an already hectic lifestyle. It starts with a strong supportive nurturing of self. When parents understand the importance of being aware of their own feelings as they arise, clearing the inner turmoil and asking for support when they need it, they would find meeting their family’s needs easier and more rewarding.

With a strong sense of self, parents then begin the process of setting boundaries, without being swayed by social or emotional pressures. These boundaries neither allows for excessive indulgence nor unreasonable restrictions. Confidence and self-acceptance prohibits the barrage of negative weightiest thoughts and images from taking hold. Teens and kids express their feelings and needs with words and not with weight, allowing extra body weight once used to shelter and protect their inner self, to melt away.

Families begin to express the comfort and pleasure of being together and caring for one another in a healthy lifestyle. They adopt eating well-balanced meals that provide nourishment and energy essential for the busy active lifestyle that they now live. The weight problem that once gripped and tore at the very fabric of the family is seen not as an insurmountable crisis but as a means to acknowledge the need to reestablish balance and to create a healthier, happier family.

So how do parents get the help they need? WeightSavvy Teens & Kids new comprehensive weight management program is designed to meet the needs of Canadian teens and kids who are struggling to maintain a healthy weight. To find out how your family can benefit from this program, get your own copy of the WeightSavvy Teens & Kids weight management and fitness program or book an appointment visit their website at www.weightsavvyteensandkids.com or call the clinic at 613.722.2272.

If you’d like more information about this topic or would like to schedule an interview with Michelle Renard Good, please contact Michelle at 613.722.2272 or e-mail Michelle at casalubris@rogers.com