Role of Parents in Child Obesity Treatment
Weight Loss Study Aim
Excessive weight in childhood is a serious public health concern because
of its costly health consequences and its increasing prevalence. Our objective
was to compare the efficacy of a family-based approach for the treatment
of childhood obesity, in which the parents served as the exclusive agents
of change, with that of the conventional approach, in which the children
served as the agents of change. This study had a randomized, longitudinal
prospective design and lasted 1 year. Sixty obese children aged 6-11 years
were randomly allocated to the experimental (parents as agents of change)
or control (children as agents of change) group. Anthropometric and biochemical
measurements were determined at the start and end of the study. A sociodemographic
questionnaire and a family eating and activity habits questionnaire were
completed by both parents. Hour-long support and educational sessions
were conducted by a clinical dietitian: 14 sessions for the parents in
the experimental group and 30 sessions for the children in the control
group.
Weight Loss Study Results
The dropout rate was nine times greater in the control group than in the
experimental group. Mean percentile weight reduction was significantly
higher in children in the experimental group (14.6 percent) than in the
control group (8.1 percent).
Weight Loss Study Conclusions
Treatment of childhood obesity with parents as the exclusive agents of
change was superior to the conventional approach, as indicated by the
dropout rate and the percentage weight loss of the children during the
1-y intervention.
Source: Golan M, Weizman A, Apter A, Fainaru
M. Adolescent Department, Geha Psychiatric Hospital, Israel. 1998
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