Providing obesity prevention counseling to children during a primary care clinic visit: results from a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric health
• Preventive medicine
• Behavioral science

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
• Primary prevention interventions in clinical settings are crucial for addressing lifestyle factors.
• Effective communication strategies are needed to engage parents in pediatric health management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess parental reception of a clinic-based primary prevention program.
• To evaluate the impact of the intervention on the delivery of annual body mass index (BMI) screening and counseling.
• To understand parent perceptions of counseling on physical activity, diet, and sedentary behaviors for children aged 5-10 years.

Main Methods:

• A posttest-only, quasiexperimental design comparing an intervention clinic with a usual care control clinic.
• A multicomponent intervention focused on child weight and lifestyle practices.
• Survey data collected from 117 parents post-clinic visit, analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential tests (Fisher's exact, chi(2), logistic regression).

Main Results:

• Over 80% of parents deemed information from healthcare providers on child weight and lifestyle important.
• Parents in the intervention group reported significantly higher receipt of weight-related counseling compared to the control group.
• Intervention parents showed a greater intention for their children to consume five or more daily servings of fruits/vegetables (25% vs 9%, P=0.049).

Conclusions:

• Parents perceive health provider messaging on child weight and lifestyle as relevant and potentially motivating for behavior change.
• Clinic-based interventions can positively influence parental engagement with health information.
• Further research with larger experimental trials is recommended to confirm effects on behavior and body weight.