Health Questions ?

Ask the Doctor:  ndneufeld@kidshape.com

Naomi D. Neufeld, M.Med.Sci, M.D. is the founder and Medical Director of KidShape, Inc. She is Board-Certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology. Dr. Neufeld received her undergraduate education at Pembroke College in Brown University, Providence RI and a Master's degree in Medical Sciences at Brown University, before graduating from Tufts University School of medicine in Boston. She completed her Fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at UCLA Center for Health Sciences, where she was a recipient of an NIH Fellowship. She then assumed a position on the Full-time staff at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where she served as Director of Pediatric Endocrinology. Dr. Neufeld is also on the Faculty at the UCLA School of Medicine, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in Residence in 1983. In 1986 Dr. Neufeld started the KidShape® program, which has been in continuous operation since then. Since 1995 she has been in private practice in Los Angeles, limited to Pediatric Endocrinology, and is a Full Professor on the Clinical Faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Neufeld is the recipient of numerous research grants, including a Clinical Investigator Award from the National Institute of Health, as well as grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Association, United Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation and TOSCO Corp. She has written over 40 peer-reviewed research papers, book chapters and invited papers. Dr. Neufeld is married and the mother of two grown children. She lives in Pacific Palisades, California.

Nutrition Questions ?

Ask the Dietitian:  cwert@kidshape.com

Christiane Wert, MPH, RD, currently serves as KidShape’s® Program Director and Head Pediatric Nutritionist. Ms. Wert is a registered dietitian having obtained her Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles. Having obtained extensive experience as a pediatric nutritionist, Ms. Wert counsels families with children of all ages having a variety of nutritional disorders including: overweight children, children with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, children at great risk for Type 2 diabetes due to being overweight, children with high cholesterol and other high lipid values, and children failing to thrive. During her tenure at KidShape® (which commenced in 1995), Ms. Wert has lead the redevelopment and successful implementation of several KidShape® sites throughout Southern California. In an effort to educate and prevent the growing problem of pediatric obesity, Ms. Wert continues to speak publicly in a variety of settings with respect to healthy eating and physical fitness for the entire family.

Mandy Graves, MPH, RD joined the KidShape® Foundation team in 2002. Mandy serves as the Assistant Program Director for the program. Mandy attended the University of California, Santa Barbara for her undergraduate degree in Biopsychology and completed her Masters of Public Health, Nutrition degree and Registered Dietitian certification at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Since then, Mandy has had a variety of jobs including managing a catering department at UCSB, working with an endocrinologist in private practice, as a WIC dietitian, and as an outpatient dietitian at a hospital. In addition to KidShape®, Mandy counsels families and individuals with nutrition concerns such as diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and chronic illness and teaches diabetes classes in Spanish. Her passion is helping families understand the importance of nutrition and giving them the tools to reach their goals.