Teen obesity addressed in the military

The purpose of this study was to trial a teen weight loss program at the largest U.S. Air Force Medical Center to find its effect in reducing the serious problem of teen obesity in San Antonio, Texas, at Lackland Air Force Base. A successful program, developed by physicians, was examined. The program, SHAPEDOWN, selected because it was the first program for teen obesity ever developed and has been successful for over 20 years, used a behavioral modification approach, which required parental involvement. The five students and five parents graduating from the program did reduce their body mass index but not to the program specifications of 1/2 to 1 lb/week. As recommended for success, the program was supposed to include weekly consecutive meetings, pretesting families to note specific family problem areas, and purchasing the training video for the teacher. However, financial and other constraints limited following the program design, and these steps were not taken. Nurturing skills for the parents were taught successfully, and parents expressed future application of these skills for both future weight loss efforts with their teens and for their improved parent/teen relationship.