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Healthy Outcomes Paediatric Program for Scarborough (HOPPS)

children reaching hands toward the sky
General Information

General Information

Healthy Outcomes Paediatric Program for Scarborough (HOPPS) help families build healthy bodies and prevent weight-related health conditions through healthy eating habits, physical activity, healthy sleep routines, balanced technology use and collaborative family relationships.

Our team is made up of paediatric endocrinologists, dietitians, an exercise therapist and a social worker. We believe in multidisciplinary care and using evidence-based guidelines to help create best care plans for our families. Our program prioritizes family-based lifestyle changes.

HOPPS is a 2 year outpatient healthy lifestyles program funded by the Ontario Paediatric Bariatric Network (OPBN). There is no cost to join the program and no specific catchment area. The program is completely virtual at this time.

Services

Our Services

The four pillars of success to our program include:

  • a team-based approach;
  • family/caregiver involvement;
  • group learning and hands-on education
  • realistic goal setting with frequent follow up

We believe in health at every size, focusing on tracking health related outcomes of obesity in addition to tracking the weight or body mass index (BMI).

Our program has been designed using evidence-based guidelines from Obesity Canada, the American Academy of Paediatrics, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, and both the Endocrine Society and Paediatric Endocrine Society.

  • Assess how your weight is impacting your health and risk for medical problems in the future (on metabolic and mechanical parameters, including high risk diabetes, pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, fatty liver, high blood pressure and sleep apnea)
  • In person check determined at appointment
  • Monitoring blood work
  • Arranging investigations when needed
  • Organizing team care plan and providing updates on program progress

  • Assess dietary quality, portions and identify nutrient deficiencies using diet recalls and biochemical data
  • Support healthy food preparation and planning with hands on applications (grocery store tours)
  • One-on-one consultations for nutrition therapy to support treatment of dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, PCOS, hypertension and correction of nutritional deficiencies
  • Assist families to develop healthy food preparation, label reading and meal planning habits

  • Focus on your likes and exploring new activities
  • Assess current activity level and mobility restrictions
  • Explore age-appropriate activities and intensity – set fun and realistic goals
  • Tailored plans for your child:
    • Explore age-appropriate activities and intensity
    • One-to-one personal training sessions for those 12+ years old that have completed the core education series
  • Take-home fitness plans for at home coaching

  • Assess impact of weight on mental health and psychosocial functioning.
  • Assess motivation level of children and families.
  • Use positive parenting techniques to assist with limit setting and address resistance to lifestyle changes.
  • Explore emotional regulation around bullying, body image, emotional eating, anxiety, depression.
  • Connect families to community resources and mental health support as needed.
  • Develop a structured approach to food and eating through the mechanism called DOR: Division of Responsibility.
  • Help deal with stress, craving and overeating, and how to effectively intervene.
  • Work collaboratively with psychologists and psychiatrists.
Learn More About HOPPS

Time Commitment for Families

The families that are most successful in the HOPPS program have a good understanding of the time commitment needed to make sustainable lifestyle changes and have all family members participate with child. Our program includes a variety of both team-based appointments, as well as individual and group learning opportunities.

  • 3 consecutive Monday appointments scheduled between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
  • Each appointment is roughly 1 hour long
  • Provided virtually through Ontario Telemedicine (OTN) or by phone
  • During school and work hours

Your family must attend all 3 visits before moving forward in the program.

This core education series occurs on Wednesday evenings between 5 – 7 p.m. via Zoom. The focus of the series is to teach and establish skills towards long-term weight management, healthy family lifestyles and disease prevention. It is geared for parents and caregivers, with older children encouraged to attend. Start date: to be discussed at your first follow-up and you will be contacted.

Virtual Team check-in every 3 months with doctor, dietitian, exercise therapist, social worker via OTN Telemedicine platform or by telephone. Parent or guardian must be present for children < 16 years of age.

Appointments include growth assessment (height, weight, BMI tracking). These appointments last approximately 30 minutes and families will review and set new goals with the team. These occur Tuesdays between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Depending on a child’s clinical situation, one-on-one consults with individual team members may be recommended. These can occur by telemedicine (OTN), phone or in-person during daytime or evening hours depending on availability on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Who Can Participate?

  • BMI >97 percentile
  • BMI >85th percentile with one or more comorbidities: acanthosis nigricans, high risk diabetes HbA1C 5.7-6%, normal fasting sugar but HbA1C 5.5 to 5.9%, dyslipidemia, NAFLD, hypertension, PCOS, OSA, orthopeadic/MSK issues, nutrient deficiencies, mental health concerns.

Note: Children with impaired fasting sugar > 7.0 mmol/L, random blood sugar > 11.1 mmol/L, or HbA1C >6.0% should be referred to the Galaxy 12 Paediatric Diabetes Education Center at SHN – Centenary hospital.

  • Active eating disorder (disordered eating, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or ARFID)
  • Active mental health crisis (severe behavioural disorders, severe aggression, social anxiety or difficulty working within a group setting)

Defining Success in the Program

We work closely with families to help them understand that success in our program can also be achieved outside of weight loss.

  • Weight stabilization or loss
  • Improved quality of life (better energy, mobility, obesity-related MSK joint pain)
  • Improvement of lipid profile, insulin resistance, liver enzymes
  • Correction of nutritional deficiencies
  • Reduced risk of chronic disease
  • Improved mental health status and body image
  • Implementation of regular physical activity, improved fitness and endurance
  • Improved dietary quality and fewer digestive concerns (acid reflux, constipation)
Getting Started

Make a referral

Registration to the HOPPS program is by referral only.

Notice for health professionals: Incomplete referrals will not be triaged and require anthropometric data (weight, height, BMI), relevant growth charts, recent blood pressure and recent blood work in the last 6 months (CBC, ferritin, fasting lipid profile, HbA1C, fasting blood sugar, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, and urine analysis).

Contact Us

Health Outcomes Paediatric Program
Centenary Hospital, Kids Care Unit, 7th Floor
2867 Ellesmere Road

Email: HOPPS@shn.ca
Phone: 647-461-7030
Fax: 416-284-3168