%0 Journal Article %A Ann L. McGaffey %A Diane J. Abatemarco %A Ilene Katz Jewell %A Susan K. Fidler %A Kristin Hughes %T Fitwits MD™: An Office-Based Tool and Games for Conversations about Obesity with 9- to 12-Year-Old Children %D 2011 %R 10.3122/jabfm.2011.06.100278 %J The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine %P 768-771 %V 24 %N 6 %X Background: Physician feelings of ineffectiveness and family-related barriers hamper childhood obesity discussions. Physicians desire appealing, time-efficient tools to frame and sensitively address obesity, body mass index, physical activity, nutrition, and portion size. Our university design-led coalition codeveloped tools and games for this purpose. Methods: In this feasibility study, we evaluated physician-level counseling of 9- to 12-year-old children and their parents/caretakers using Fitwits MD (Carnegie Mellon University School of Design, Pittsburgh, PA), a brief, structured intervention with flashcards and take-home games. Residency-based physicians in three low- to mid-level socioeconomic urban offices provided self-report data over 8 months through surveys, comment cards, and interviews. Results: We recruited 33 physicians and 93 preadolescents and families. Child-centered key messages resulted in 7-minute conversations, on average. For those physicians who used Fitwits MD, 96% felt improved comfort and competence and 78% noted barrier reduction. Conclusions: Fitwits MD improved residency-based physician self-efficacy and emphasized important health education topics regarding office-based childhood obesity discussions with preadolescents and parents/caretakers. %U https://www.jabfm.org/content/jabfp/24/6/768.full.pdf