Impact Story

5-2-1-0 Prescription Program

Long-Term Outcomes

  • Improve High School Graduation
  • Improve Healthy Weight Rate

For the past several years, the Primary Care Team has focused on preventing and reducing childhood obesity through the 5-2-1-0 prescription program.

This program aims to provide simple steps towards achieving and maintaining a healthy weight among children by developing healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

The 5210 Prescription for Healthy Habits gives the child the choice as to what healthy habit they want to commit to. They have the everyday healthy habit choice of eating at least 5 fruits or vegetables, reduce screen time to 2 hours or less. Get 1 hour of physical activity, or consume 0 sugary drinks. This program allows health providers to converse with children and their parents about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.

2018 Campaign Successes

  • A total of 27 pediatric providers, including pediatricians and pediatric ARNPs participated, representing 3 practices across Polk County.
  • A total of 1,587 prescriptions were disseminated and 3,841 goals were selected by patients.
  • The most popular goal selected was eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day.
    • This goal was selected 1,051 times.
  • The least popular goal selected was 2 hours or less of recreational screen time each day.
    • This goal was selected 890 times.

Polk Vision’s 5-2-1-0 program is a wonderful intervention to address childhood obesity. During my pediatric clinical rotation, I gave 5-2-1-0 prescriptions to my patients and their families. Through these prescriptions, it opened the door to have conversations and answer questions about healthy eating and healthy living. To successfully reduce the incidence of and prevent complications from obesity, it will require efforts not only from the patient, but also from those involved in their life: families, healthcare providers, and the community at large.

SAMMIE INEVIL, MSN, Family Nurse Practitioner Student, Florida Southern College School of Nursing and Health Sciences

Florida Southern College 5-2-1-0 Partnership

The 2018-2019 school year was the first year of implementing the 5-2-1-0 prescription tool into the ARNP curriculum at Florida Southern College. The goal is for students to utilize the tool with pediatric patients during practicum rotations and discuss use of the 5-2-1-0 prescription with their primary care preceptors.

In the fall of 2018, the Team hosted a forum on “Healthy Choices, Healthy Kids” for Florida Southern students, emphasizing the local resources and programs that are available to fight childhood obesity and promote healthy habits. Team Co-Chairs made additional presentations at the beginning of each semester with students who would be using the prescription tool in their clinical rotations.

In the spring of 2019, the Team was contacted by a Florida Southern ARNP student who was completing a clinical rotation at a local pediatric office. She had been using the 5-2-1-0 prescription tool in her rotation and shared the idea with the other providers at the office, who expressed interest in participating. The Team visited the office to introduce the program to the providers and distribute the 5-2-1-0 toolkits. This additional practice has now been added to the Team’s data collection as a fourth participating partner.

Dr. Anchundia, a pediatrician with Central Florida Health Care Center in Haines City, assists a patient with making healthy choices using the 5-2-1-0 prescription.

Subscribe to our newsletter