The "Derek" Story - Obese Youth Program

A year ago, 14 year old Derrick Cornett weighted 480 pounds. His obesity had led to congestive heart failure, water on the lungs and other medical issues. Now he has lost at least 160 pounds - the equivalent of an entire person - and many of those medical complications have disappeared. To be able to lose so much weight required major life changes, but according to Derrick, it has all been worth it. To recap:

• Has lost a “whole person”: 160 lbs to date
• Self-esteem has skyrocketed
• Now has prospect for a long and healthy life
• Made lasting relationships at LYTC

 

Complications from being overweight

If the State, the doctors and the Louisville Youth Training Center had not intervened, Derrick's outcome would not have been hard to predict. Serious illnesses result when a child becomes obese, including a condition that is a precursor to insulin-dependent diabetes, high blood pressure and coronary disease, osteoporosis, and even the onset of pre-puberty menses in girls and reproductive failure can be traced to obesity, according to information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"It's labor intensive to work with obese kids," says Dr. Heuser. "It's one child at a time, but the best thing is this program can be reproduced anywhere. You just need people to do it. My vision is that one day this program will be in every neighborhood."