Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Child Obesity - Part Two - Kihuanna's Story

Yesterday, we reported on a clinical program in Holyoke, Massachusetts that helps overweight children adopt healthier habits. It’s part of a statewide collaborative focused on rising rates of obesity and diabetes among low-income and Latino populations, like Holyoke’s. Today, we check in with one family trying to follow their doctor’s advice. Karen Brown reports.

KIHUANNA ESPADA KEEPS A PHOTOGRAPH OF HERSELF ON THE MIRROR ABOVE HER DRESSER. IN IT, SHE’S SITTING ON A KITCHEN COUNTER CROSS-LEGGED, SHOWING OFF HER NEWLY PAINTED TOE-NAILS. BUT THESE DAYS, WHAT MATTERS TO HER IN THAT PHOTO, IS HOW THIN SHE WAS. IT WAS TAKEN THREE YEARS AGO, WHEN SHE WAS SIX YEARS OLD – AND ABOUT 60 POUNDS LIGHTER.

every time people see it, they say, you should get better. like, you should get the same way you were. not just keep gaining weight.0:21:56.4 and I say, you're right, I should.
KIHUANNA LIVES IN A SMALL HOLYOKE APARTMENT WITH HER SISTER, BROTHER-IN-LAW, AUNT, AND MOTHER – A NATIVE OF PUERTO RICO. WHEN KIHUANNA WAS ABOUT 7, SHE STARTED PUTTING ON WEIGHT FASTER THAN HER HEIGHT WARRANTED. WITH A BODY MASS INDEX OF 40 -- TWICE THE NORMAL RANGE -- KIHUANNA IS AMONG THE TWENTY PERCENT OF AMERICAN CHILDREN CONSIDERED OBESE.
When they told me I was overweight, I said, I have to lose weight. I HAVE to.

THIS SPRING, AT THE SUGGESTION OF KIHUANNA'S PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR, THEIR MOTHER, KEE-UMARI RODRIQUEZ, SIGNED HER UP FOR THE HOLYOKE HEALTH CENTER’S HEALTHY WEIGHT PROGRAM. AT FIRST, KIHUANNA WAS TERRIFIED.

*i thought they were gonna do surgery. 0:03:09.7…0:03:18.5
like open my belly and look through it.
'what did they do?'
just talking to me about my health.

BEFORE ENTERING THE PROGRAM, KIHUANNA WOULD COME HOME AFTER SCHOOL AND SPEND ABOUT SIX HOURS ALONE IN FRONT OF THE TV. SHE LOVED SODA, CANDY, WHITE RICE, MIDNIGHT SNACKS. But IN THE SIX WEEKS SINCE HER FIRST VISIT WITH A NUTRITIONIST AND WEIGHT-DOCTOR, HOUSEHOLD HABITS HAVE CHANGED DRAMATICALLY. KIHUANNA’S COUSIN PALOMA SANCHEZ WAS VISITING ONE AFTERNOON, GOING THROUGH THE FRIDGE.

fruit, orange juice, hundred percent, two percent milk, fat free cheese,

[COOKING AMBI]

HER MOTHER KEE-UMARI HAS ALSO BEEN LEARNING TO COOK TRADITIONAL PUERTO RICAN FOOD… IN A HEALTHIER WAY. [run mom's voice: la carne, no frita] SHE NO LONGER FRIES HER MEAT AS OFTEN. SHE COOKS MANY MORE VEGETABLES THAN SHE USED TO – AND EVEN EATS MORE OF THEM HERSELF. KIHUANNA LOVES PUERTO RICAN ORANGE RICE, SO SHE ASKED HER MOTHER TO START MIXING IT WITH LETTUCE.

and i told my mom to put a lot of the salad so i can eat it. and it helped me lose weight, bc I just get a little bit of rice.

KIHUANNA’S 18-YEAR-OLD SISTER GWENDOLYN – WHO’S TALL AND CURVY, BUT NOT OVERWEIGHT – HAS TWEAKED HER OWN HABITS -- TO SUPPORT KIHUANNA.

G: i eat less junk food in front of her, or i'll try not to eat in front of her. so she doesn't feel she wants some too.

K: 0:11:58.6 like, i tell her just to keep it in her room, so i don't see it. and like, my mom's not buying no more soda. and it's hard for me, cuz i love soda.

GETTING OFF THE COUCH AND MOVING… IS SOMETHING ELSE KIHUANNA HAD TO LEARN. HER MOTHER WORKS AS A CARETAKER FOR A DISABLED RELATIVE AND DOESN'T HAVE TIME TO ORGANIZE ACTIVITIES FOR KIHUANNA. SO, AT THE DOCTOR’S SUGGESTION, SHE SIGNED KIHUANNA UP FOR A FREE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM CALLED GIRLS INC,.... SHE STILL WATCHES SOME TV WHEN SHE COMES HOME.... (tv ambi...)
BUT SHE'S MAKING A STRONG EFFORT TO FOLLOWS HER DOCTOR’S PRESCRIPTION….TO RIDE HER BIKE FOR AT LEAST A HALF HOUR, FIVE DAYS A WEEK. IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY. HER BIKE HAS BEEN STOLEN TWICE, AND HER NEW ONE -- BUILT BY HER BROTHER-IN-LAW -- IS A BIT SMALL FOR HER. THERE'S NO BIKE PATH NEARBY, SO SHE RIDES UP AND DOWN THE SIDEWALK OUTSIDE HER APARTMENT.

*i usually come up and aks my mom, how many minutes i've been out.0:06:23.4 and she tells me sometimes ten, fifteen, and i just keep going til i get like a little more.

HER MOM EVEN MAKES HER STAY OUT IF IT'S RAINING....BUT KIHUANNA SAYS, WHAT STARTED OUT AS A CHORE ... IS GETTING TO BE FUN. SHE FOUND A FRIEND TO BIKE WITH, AND SOMETIMES THEY STAY OUT FOR A COUPLE HOURS….

*ambi -- sound of spokes, wheel. 0:27:49.2 'so how fast can you go?' i can go really fast, and i can stand up on it. 0:27:52.5

KIHUANNA’S FAMILY IS RELIEVED THAT SHE'S TAKEN TO THESE LIFESTYLE CHANGES
mom: tiene mucho motivation, esta motivanda ahora.0:08:43.8 … HER MOM SAYS SHE’S ALREADY LOST FOUR POUNDS, AND THAT KEEPS HER MOTIVATED.
... esta focundo in ella misma0:09:07.6

[GWEN: 0:07:03.5 -- *she's getting skinnier, she's eating less....

AND FOR THAT, GWENDOLYN SAYS, SHE’S PROUD OF HER SISTER.

Real proud. I just want her to just move on with herself, and lose weight and be happy.

IT'S HARD TO GUAGE KIHUANNA'S STATISTICAL CHANCES OF SLIMMING DOWN; PEDIATRIC OBESITY PROGRAMS ARE NEW AND NOT WIDELY STUDIED. KIHUANA HERSELF IS CONFIDENT SHE CAN STICK WITH THESE GOOD HABITS.

I have seen a lot of other people, if they were overweight, and they get diabetes and stuff. And they get sick. So I don’t want to be like that. And I don’t feel scared, bc I know I’m gonna do it.

SHE STILL CRAVES JUNK FOOD, AND SOMETIMES SHE JUST WANTS TO VEG IN FRONT OF NICKOLODEON. BUT THEN SHE LOOKS AT THAT PHOTO OF HER THIN, SIX-YEAR-OLD SELF – AND HEADS BACK OUTSIDE. I’M KAREN BROWN.

OUTCUE: TOMORROW, WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE INTENSIVE WEIGHT PROGRAMS ARE OVER....

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