PATH Program
The path to growing healthier generations starts at home.
Pennington Biomedical Research Center is pleased to introduce PATH (Positive Actions Towards Health), a comprehensive family-based program to help families manage their weight. PATH leads families through an interactive journey to health with a trained health coach, child-friendly lessons, and online tools with engaging customizable features along the way!
Greaux Healthy's PATH program
PATH is a coach-led program conducted in the primary health care setting. It includes core units which focus on nutrition, physical activity, habit changes, routine, family and community influences, and health behavior maintenance. PATH lesson plans use a child-friendly, evidence-based curriculum for monitoring and modifying food and physical activity. The program delivers intensive health behavior lifestyle treatment (IHBLT) for children and adolescents with overweight or obesity consistent with American Academy of Pediatrics clinical practice guidelines and United States Preventative Services Taskforce recommendations.
6-12
PATH is designed for families with children aged 6-12 years who have overweight or obesity.
26
The program consists of 26, 1-hour sessions.
6-12
PATH sessions are delivered over the course of 6-12 months.
Integrating Technology
Families who participate in PATH will either utilize a digital, cellular-enabled scale that syncs or manually enter both child and parent weight to graph their progress within the program’s website. The Weight Path Graph technology provides a “green” target zone and a “red” safety zone for parents/caregivers to view weight progress, along with a gamified graph for children to monitor progress with behavioral goals.
The gamified graph for children will have 2-3 behavioral goals that they track each week such as time spent being physically active, consistency with weight tracking, or limiting low nutrient foods.
The child-facing page of the program will reflect progress towards daily and weekly goals, and children will have a "trophy case" which will hold their stickers/awards for achieving weekly goals.
Parents will see their own weight loss or weight maintenance graph, as well as a pediatric weight loss or weight maintenance graph (depending on the child's age and BMI percentile).
More about the program
For Clinics
Use the form below to connect with us and request a sample of program materials.
PATH provides a comprehensive Train-the-Trainer model for clinic teams. Participating clinics receive access to training sessions for program champions, coordinators, and coaches. Training covers PATH lesson delivery, family engagement strategies, data collection, and clinic workflow integration.
The PATH Provider Toolkit equips providers with all resources they will need to effectively deliver the program to participants, including all lesson plans, handouts, and situational guidance to determine when and how they should be used, dependent upon each family's unique needs.
Coaches typically spend about 2–3 hours per family per week, including preparation, delivery, and documentation.
Each participating clinic receives instructions how on to use the web application for data collection (e.g. attendance tracking, lesson completion, and family outcomes). You will be able to view data on key performance indicators on your clinic dashboard.
For Families
The PATH program is conducted out of the primary care setting through a physician referral. Trained coaches deliver the program to the referred child (aged 6-12 years) and at least one parent or caregiver. The program relies on all parties to work as a team to support positive health change.
PATH is delivered in 26, 1-hour sessions over the course of 6 months to 1 year.
Check with your provider to determine potential insurance coverage for your participation in the PATH program.
No special equipment is required. PATH lessons use simple, household items to demonstrate movement and healthy living. Your coach will provide all necessary materials or offer alternatives based on what’s available at home.
If you miss a class, your coach can share a recap, key tips, and follow-up activities so your family stays on track. Make-up opportunities or virtual sessions may also be available depending on your clinic.
Speak to your healthcare provider about PATH. If they are not already offering the program, you can ask that they visit this website to learn more and request access.
Have additional questions? Use the form below to get in touch.
REQUEST FORM Connect with us.
Discover if the PATH program is right for your clinical practice.