GoTo Telemed Launches Comprehensive Pediatric Obesity Management Program

Posted on 2026-05-27 by GoToTelemed in Internet & Online // 0 Comments

Helena, Montana, 2026-05-27 — /EPR Network/ — GoTo Telemed, the nation’s leading integrated telehealth ecosystem serving over 10 million patients nationwide, today announced the launch of its dedicated Pediatric Obesity Management Program, a comprehensive virtual care service designed to address the complex needs of children and adolescents with obesity through evidence‑based family interventions, structured behavioral support, and coordinated multidisciplinary care. Delivered by a network of pediatric obesity medicine specialists, registered dietitians, behavioral health providers, and physical activity coaches, this program brings expert, guideline‑aligned weight management directly to families nationwide—eliminating long wait times, geographic barriers, and fragmented care.

omprehensive pediatric weight management programs remains severely limited, with many families facing months‑long wait times, geographic scarcity of specialized programs, and inconsistent insurance coverage . GoTo Telemed’s program eliminates these barriers while delivering care that meets or exceeds the intensity and quality of in‑person multidisciplinary programs.

“Childhood obesity is not a simple matter of diet and exercise—it is a complex, chronic condition rooted in genetics, environment, behavior, and social determinants of health,” said a GoTo Telemed spokesperson. “Our Pediatric Obesity Management Program recognizes that effective treatment requires a whole‑family approach delivered over time. Through weekly virtual visits, behavioral coaching, and family‑centered support, we help children and their parents build sustainable habits that improve health, self‑esteem, and long‑term well‑being—all from the convenience and privacy of home.”

Program Components: Family‑Centered, Multidisciplinary Virtual Care

GoTo Telemed’s program follows the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2023 Clinical Practice Guideline for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with overweight and obesity . The AAP guideline emphasizes that “the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with overweight and obesity” should incorporate a chronic‑disease management model, with intervention intensity matched to disease severity, and that in addition to intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment, medication and metabolic and bariatric surgery may be recommended for some children .

The program implements four evidence‑based treatment stages, aligned with AAP recommendations and validated through peer‑reviewed telehealth outcomes.

Treatment Stage Description Interventions
Stage 1: Family‑Centered Lifestyle Modification For children with BMI ≥85th percentile. Brief, primary‑care‑based virtual coaching. Healthy eating education, physical activity promotion, screen time reduction, family meals, and responsive feeding guidance. The 2025 Greenlight Plus randomized clinical trial demonstrated that adding a digital health literacy intervention to pediatric primary care improved child weight‑for‑length trajectories across the first 24 months of life .
Stage 2: Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Treatment (IHBLT) For children aged 6 years and older who do not respond to Stage 1. Referral to intensive virtual IHBLT is recommended by AAP for these children . Weekly virtual family coaching sessions, structured dietary plans, increased physical activity goals, and monthly follow‑up. A 2025 retrospective matched‑control study of a structured telehealth lifestyle intervention concluded that such programs are safe, effective, and sustainable for pediatric obesity management, supporting telehealth as a clinically viable and sustainable model .
Stage 3: Pharmacotherapy For adolescents aged 12 years and older with severe obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile) or significant obesity‑related comorbidities who do not respond adequately to lifestyle intervention alone . FDA‑approved anti‑obesity medications (AOMs), including semaglutide (Wegovy) and liraglutide (Saxenda), are prescribed under close telemedicine supervision. A 2025 study of 201 adolescents aged 12–18 showed that semaglutide treatment for 68 weeks reduced weight and BMI by 14.7% and 16.1%, respectively .
Stage 4: Tertiary Care Coordination For children with BMI ≥40 or ≥35 with significant obesity‑related comorbidities who may be candidates for metabolic and bariatric surgery . Warm handoffs to pediatric bariatric surgery centers, with pre‑ and post‑operative virtual support from GoTo Telemed’s multidisciplinary team, in accordance with AAP recommendations for youth with severe obesity .
Technology‑Enhanced Care Delivery

The program leverages GoTo Telemed’s integrated digital health platform to support sustained family engagement and continuous monitoring.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM): Families receive Bluetooth‑connected smart scales that transmit weight data directly to the care team. For older adolescents, optional wearable activity trackers monitor physical activity and sleep patterns.

Virtual Behavioral Coaching: Weekly 30‑minute video sessions with health coaches trained in evidence‑based behavior change techniques, motivational interviewing, and family‑centered goal setting.

Digital Family Portal: Parents access educational modules, meal planning resources, age‑appropriate physical activity videos, and a library of healthy recipes through GoTo Telemed’s secure patient portal.

Physical Activity Prescription: Structured, age‑appropriate physical activity plans developed with certified exercise professionals, including demonstrated video content for home workouts.

School Collaboration: Secure communication with school nurses and counselors to reinforce healthy habits in the school environment and coordinate IEP/504 plan accommodations when needed.

Clinical Evidence Supporting Telehealth Pediatric Obesity Care

The program is grounded in robust peer‑reviewed evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of telehealth‑delivered pediatric weight management.

Evidence Source Key Finding
Evaluating the long‑term effectiveness of a structured telehealth obesity program in children and adolescents (2025) A structured telehealth lifestyle intervention is safe, effective, and sustainable for pediatric obesity management, supporting telehealth as a clinically viable and sustainable model .
Effectiveness of Telehealth and Wearable Device‑Based Interventions for Managing Childhood and Adolescent Obesity (2025) Telehealth and wearable technologies offer continuous self‑monitoring, personalized feedback, and active engagement, empowering youth in their health management .
The Effects of Teleinterventions on Pediatric Weight Control (2025) Teleinterventions significantly reduced the BMI z‑score between the fourth and sixth months (MD –0.15, 95% CI –0.23 to –0.08) and between the seventh and twelfth months (MD –0.19) .
Long‑term results of a digital treatment tool as an add‑on to pediatric obesity lifestyle treatment (2025) Adding a digital tool to physical visits is highly promising regarding sustained weight loss over 3 years in a 3‑year pragmatic clinical trial of 428 children .
A Digital Health Behavior Intervention to Prevent Childhood Obesity (2024) A health literacy–informed digital intervention improved child weight‑for‑length trajectory across the first 24 months of life and reduced childhood obesity at 24 months .
Leveraging Telehealth in Pediatric Obesity Care: A Multidisciplinary Model with Big Impact (2025) The TeleWOW telehealth model addresses pediatric obesity in rural and medically underserved communities, emphasizing the importance of a multidisciplinary team including medical, nutrition, and behavioral health professionals .
Addressing Critical Gaps in Pediatric Obesity Care

The Pediatric Obesity Management Program directly confronts the systemic barriers that have long prevented children and families from receiving evidence‑based weight management.

Barrier GoTo Telemed Solution
Severe shortage of pediatric obesity specialists Telehealth connects families with board‑certified pediatric obesity medicine providers regardless of geographic location, reducing wait times from months to days.
Geographic and transportation barriers Families in rural and underserved areas receive the same high‑quality, family‑centered care as those in major metropolitan regions, eliminating hours of travel.
Fragmented care across specialties Unified electronic health record (EHR) ensures seamless coordination among pediatricians, dietitians, behavioral health providers, and primary care physicians.
Limited access to pediatric pharmacotherapy Telehealth‑based prescribing and monitoring of FDA‑approved anti‑obesity medications, with prior authorization support and ongoing safety monitoring.
Low engagement and high dropout Weekly virtual coaching, family‑centered goal setting, and mobile app‑based self‑monitoring keep families engaged and accountable.
Inconsistent insurance coverage Dedicated prior authorization support and transparent, family‑friendly pricing for covered and non‑covered services.
Family‑Centered Approach

The program recognizes that lasting change requires the active participation of parents, caregivers, and the entire household. Key family‑centered features include:

Parent Training and Skill Building: Parents learn evidence‑based strategies for structuring the home environment, modeling healthy behaviors, managing mealtime challenges, and supporting child autonomy within healthy boundaries.

Responsive Feeding Education: Parents learn to recognize child hunger and satiety cues, avoid pressure to eat, and structure meals to support child autonomy and self‑regulation.

Caregiver Stress and Well‑Being Support: Embedded behavioral health support for parents, recognizing that caregiver stress and mental health directly affect child weight management outcomes.

Sibling and Household Integration: The entire household is encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyle changes, preventing the child from feeling singled out or stigmatized.

Integration With GoTo Telemed‘s Comprehensive Pediatric Ecosystem

The Pediatric Obesity Management Program operates as a fully integrated component of GoTo Telemed‘s unified pediatric telehealth platform.

Unified Electronic Health Record (EHR): All growth charts, BMI trajectories, laboratory results, coaching notes, and medication records are consolidated in the child’s lifelong health record, accessible to all authorized providers.

Remote Monitoring Dashboard: Clinicians view weight trends, BMI z‑score trajectories, physical activity logs, and adherence metrics on a central interface, with automated alerts for weight plateaus or concerning trends.

E‑Prescribing and Prior Authorization Support: FDA‑approved anti‑obesity medications are prescribed electronically, with real‑time formulary benefit tools and prior authorization navigation.

Seamless Care Escalations: Built‑in warm handoffs to pediatric endocrinology, adolescent medicine, and bariatric surgery centers when indicated.

Family Portal and Mobile App: Parents access their child’s growth charts, educational resources, meal planning tools, and secure messaging through GoTo Telemed’s patient portal.

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