[Economy of coupons: its application to a program of weight reduction in adolescents]

The results obtained in a group of 12 obese adolescents are reported. They were managed following a motivational system called economy of coupons with the purpose of obtaining a drop in the overweight they showed. The study was divided into three stages: A, B and C. Only stage B included the experimental variable (economy of coupons). The patients kept a notebook with daily records of weight, diet and physical exercise to be evaluated by the research workers. If they reached the goals set for them, they were given strengthening stimuli to support such activity. From the analysis of the group for the body weight and its statistic comparison, it was found that in the A - B interaction, the "p" level was significant in the weight loss. In the B - C interaction, the value for "p" was less than 0.05 in relation to the ponderal increment and in A - C interaction, there was no significance. From this study, the evidence showed that results of A - C interaction were poor and therefore, rehabilitation was not obtained. From the above results, the inclusion of a fourth stage is suggested for further studies where the application of economy of coupons would gradually disappear until a desired behavior is maintained.