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Family-based behavioural treatment of childhood obesity in a UK National Health Service setting: randomized

H Croker1, R M Viner, D Nicholls

  • 1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, UCL, London, UK. h.croker@ucl.ac.uk

International Journal of Obesity (2005)
|September 21, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Family-based behavioral treatment (FBBT) for childhood obesity showed no significant group differences in BMI or secondary outcomes compared to a waiting list. While both groups improved, FBBT did not demonstrate superior effectiveness in this diverse UK sample.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Behavioral Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Comprehensive family-based programs yield the best outcomes for childhood obesity.
  • Generalizability of these programs remains a concern.
  • Need to assess effectiveness in diverse populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of family-based behavioral treatment (FBBT) for childhood obesity.
  • To assess FBBT in an ethnically and socially diverse UK National Health Service (NHS) sample.
  • To compare FBBT outcomes against a waiting-list control.

Main Methods:

  • Randomized controlled trial with 72 obese children.
  • Parallel group design: FBBT versus waiting-list control.
  • Primary outcomes: Body Mass Index (BMI) and BMI standard deviation scores (SDSs). Secondary outcomes included weight, blood pressure, body composition, and psychosocial measures. Assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 12-month follow-up for the treatment group.

Main Results:

  • Intent-to-treat analyses (n=60) showed significant BMI SDS changes within both treatment and control groups.
  • The treatment group exhibited significant reductions in systolic blood pressure and improvements in quality of life and eating attitudes.
  • No significant between-group differences were found for BMI, body composition, blood pressure, or psychosocial outcomes. No overall change in BMI or BMI SDSs from 0-12 months in the treatment group. No adverse effects reported.

Conclusions:

  • Both FBBT and waiting-list control groups achieved significant reductions in overweight levels.
  • No statistically significant difference in effectiveness was observed between the FBBT and control groups for primary or secondary outcomes.
  • The study highlights the need for further research into optimizing family-based interventions for diverse childhood obesity populations.
Abstract

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