b'PENRITH HOME TO AUSTRALIAS FIRSTFAMILY OBESITY SERVICEAustralias first family-centred, multidisciplinary clinic to help mums, dads and kids tackle obesity and achieve a healthy weight officially opened in Penrith in April 2017.The Nepean Blue Mountains Family Metabolic Health Service is unique because for the first time, whole families receive the medical and social support needed to maintain a healthy weight from one dedicated team.NBMLHD partners with the Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network (NBMPHN) and The University of Sydneys Charles Perkins Centre Nepean to deliver this service.The team includes endocrinologists, paediatricians, dietitians, psychologists, physiotherapists, nurses and midwives.This unique model of community-based care and intervention now serves as an example for similar collaborations nationwide.Around one in five children are overweight or obese and without intervention they risk developing chronic disease later in life.The expert staff recognise that factors such as genetics, social and cultural, as well as lifestyle, all play a part in maintaining a healthy weight and they offer targeted interventions that aim to break the cycle of obesity.The service is based at Nepean Hospital and the Nepean Clinical School of The University of Sydney.22 HEALTH CARE INNOVATION'