Early intervention for childhood overweight: A randomized trial in general practice

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Public Health
• General Practice

Background:

• Childhood overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns.
• Early intervention is crucial for managing pediatric weight management.
• General practice settings offer a platform for implementing obesity interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of two intervention models for overweight and obese children.
• To evaluate health consultations versus consultations plus educational programs.
• To assess changes in body mass index (BMI) z-scores in pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• Prospective randomized controlled trial involving 60 general practices.
• Recruited 80 overweight children aged 5-9 years based on International Obesity Task Force criteria.
• Interventions included general practice health consultations (Model 1) or consultations plus family educational programs (Model 2) over two years.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in BMI z-score changes between Model 1 and Model 2.
• Both models showed a decrease in mean BMI z-score: -0.20 for Model 1 and -0.26 for Model 2.
• High participant retention (2/3) and an average of 12 consultations per child were observed.

Conclusions:

• The two intervention strategies for pediatric overweight and obesity demonstrated comparable effectiveness in reducing BMI z-scores.
• Neither health consultations alone nor combined with educational programs showed a statistically significant advantage.
• Findings suggest that in this setting, both approaches are viable for managing childhood obesity.