Impact of family YMCA membership on childhood obesity: a randomized controlled effectiveness trial

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• Obesity Research

Background:

• Childhood obesity treatment studies in primary care settings are limited.
• A hypothesis proposed that subsidized YMCA family memberships could aid weight reduction in pediatric patients.
• This study investigated the efficacy of YMCA memberships as an adjunct to nutrition education for pediatric obesity management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a paid family YMCA membership combined with nutrition classes in reducing body mass index (BMI) percentile in children aged 5–17 years.
• To compare weight change outcomes between children receiving nutrition classes only versus those receiving nutrition classes plus YMCA membership.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving children (5–17 years) at or above the 85th BMI percentile.
• Participants attended four nutrition classes and had follow-up evaluations at 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months.
• Randomization assigned participants to either nutrition classes alone or nutrition classes plus a family YMCA membership.

Main Results:

• The primary outcome was the change in BMI-for-age percentile over one year.
• Only 27 out of 36 evaluable participants in the YMCA group utilized the membership.
• No statistically significant difference in achieving a 2-point BMI percentile reduction was observed between groups (P = .17).

Conclusions:

• Subsidizing YMCA memberships for severely obese children did not lead to greater weight loss compared to nutrition classes alone over a 12-month period.
• Both intervention and control groups reported improvements in nutritional intake.
• Financial incentives for YMCA membership alone are insufficient to significantly impact weight loss in this pediatric population.