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Twelve-month effectiveness of a parent-led, family-focused weight-management program for prepubertal children: a
Rebecca K Golley1, Anthea M Magarey, Louise A Baur
1Flinders University, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia.
Insights
Parenting-skills training effectively reduces childhood overweight, especially when combined with lifestyle education. This approach shows greater results in boys, suggesting tailored interventions for weight management in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Behavioral Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood overweight is a significant health concern.
- Parenting-skills training is a potential behavior-modification strategy for pediatric weight management.
- Effective, age-appropriate interventions are needed to support parents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of parenting-skills training for treating overweight children.
- To compare parenting-skills training alone versus combined with lifestyle education.
- To assess the impact on BMI, waist circumference, and metabolic profiles.
Main Methods:
- An assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial was conducted.
- 111 overweight, prepubertal children (ages 6-9) were randomized.
- Interventions included parenting-skills training plus lifestyle education, parenting-skills training alone, or a wait-list control over 12 months.
Main Results:
- Combined parenting-skills training and lifestyle education reduced BMI z scores by ~10%.
- Parenting-skills training alone or wait-listing resulted in ~5% BMI z score reduction.
- Waist circumference z scores decreased in both intervention groups; boys showed greater reductions than girls.
Conclusions:
- Parenting-skills training combined with a healthy family lifestyle is effective for childhood weight management.
- The intervention appears particularly effective for prepubertal boys.
- Future research should focus on gender-specific analyses and larger sample sizes.
Background:
Parenting-skills training may be an effective age-appropriate child behavior-modification strategy to assist parents in addressing childhood overweight.
Objective:
Our goal was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of parenting-skills training as a key strategy for the treatment of overweight children.
Design:
The design consisted of an assessor-blinded, randomized, controlled trial involving 111 (64% female) overweight, prepubertal children 6 to 9 years of age randomly assigned to parenting-skills training plus intensive lifestyle education, parenting-skills training alone, or a 12-month wait-listed control. Height, BMI, and waist-circumference z score and metabolic profile were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months (intention to treat).
Results:
After 12 months, the BMI z score was reduced by approximately 10% with parenting-skills training plus intensive lifestyle education versus approximately 5% with parenting-skills training alone or wait-listing for intervention. Waist-circumference z score fell over 12 months in both intervention groups but not in the control group. There was a significant gender effect, with greater reduction in BMI and waist-circumference z scores in boys compared with girls.
Conclusion:
Parenting-skills training combined with promoting a healthy family lifestyle may be an effective approach to weight management in prepubertal children, particularly boys. Future studies should be powered to allow gender subanalysis.
