Family Intervention Reduces Childhood Obesity in 2-Year Study

A pediatric obesity intervention that focused on frequent, low-dose family support was able to effectively reduce excess weight in mild to moderately overweight children. The intervention and the weight loss occurred during a 2-year study.

Rachael W. Taylor, PhD, from the University of Otago in New Zealand, and colleagues published the results of their randomized trial online July 20 and in the August issue ofPediatrics. The study included 206 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years who had a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile or higher.

The children were recruited at a weight screening initiative. Many of the children who were selected for inclusion in the study had parents who were initially unaware their children were overweight.

The researchers randomly assigned families to either the tailored package (TP) treatment group, which provided parents with personalized, brief monthly support, or the usual care (UC) group. Parents in both groups were informed that their children were overweight.

The investigators retained 88% of the children through the 2 years of the study. At 2 years, the intervention was associated with a significantly lower BMI score relative to control and a significant BMI z score of 0.12.

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