Alberto Hidalgo-Robert is a 19-year old blogger on a mission: No Child Left with a Big Behind. It’s more than a catchy title to attract readers. The Redwood City teen is serious about stopping the obesity epidemic.
Six years ago, he was the biggest kid he knew. A shy boy who had recently immigrated from El Salvador, he struggled to make friends and sought comfort in food and television.
At age 13, he topped out at 230 pounds. Blood tests showed dangerously high glucose and cholesterol levels, and that he was pre-diabetic. For Alberto, who had watched his grandmother struggle with diabetes, this was a harsh wake-up call.
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Alberto Hidalgo-Robert, center, shown before enrolling in the Pediatric Weight Control Program.
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Alberto and his mother enrolled in the Pediatric Weight Control Program at Packard, part of the Hospital’s Center for Healthy Weight.
“It’s not a diet,” explains Cindy Zedeck, the program’s director. “It’s a lifestyle change.”
To join, children ages 8 to 17 must commit to six months of weekly group meetings and be willing to make permanent changes to eat more healthfully, watch less television, and exercise regularly. At least one parent must enroll with their child, but ultimately, says Zedeck, the child has to be the one who wants to participate.
Offered in English and Spanish at locations in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and San Jose, the program uses an easy-to-understand “traffic light” system to classify foods: Red lights are unhealthy foods to be eaten rarely, such as pizza and cheeseburgers. Yellow light foods can be eaten frequently but in moderation, such as grains, meats, and nuts. Green lights, such as fruits and vegetables, can be eaten regularly. Nothing is off limits. It’s all about budgeting and control.
For Alberto, the program taught him a completely new way to think about food. But the hardest part, he says, was meeting the program’s challenge of turning off the television for one whole week.
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Alberto has made permanent changes for a healthier lifestyle.
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“I had all these shows I wanted to watch—a whole agenda,” he recalls. “We had to learn to control the TV, instead of letting it control us.”
The first three months of the program were difficult. Growing children need to lose weight at a healthy pace—which means it can seem painfully slow. Alberto stuck it out, and began to see the benefits.
“I found a whole new world in the kitchen,” he says, where he and his mother tried out delicious, more healthful recipes. And he found that his childhood love of swimming translated into an athletic pursuit he enjoyed.
Alberto lost 30 pounds in the program. His parents, like many other parents in the program, lost weight as well.
“Packard gave me all these valuable tools, like classifying foods, exercising, turning off the TV, and just being honest with myself,” says Alberto. “That’s second nature now.”
Since then, Alberto has lost an additional 40 pounds, and is now a pre-med student at Notre Dame de Namur University. In addition to blogging, he recently finished writing a book about his battle with obesity. He wants it to be an encouragement to others.
“Everyone is different and most people aren’t meant to be toothpicks,” he says. “It’s not about how much you weigh, it’s about having a healthy lifestyle.”