Targeting parents exclusively in the treatment of childhood obesity: long-term results.
OBJECTIVE
To report the long-term change in children's overweight following a family-based health-centered approach where only parents were targeted compared with a control intervention where only children were targeted.


METHODS
Fifty of the 60 children who participated in the original study were located 7 years later, and their weight and height were measured. At the point of the 7-year follow-up, the children were 14 to 19 years of age. Repeated measure ANOVA was used to test differences between the groups in percent overweight at different time-points.


RESULTS
Mean reduction in percent overweight was greater at all follow-up points in children of the parent-only group compared with those in the children-only group (p < 0.05). Seven years after the program terminated, mean reduction in children's overweight was 29% in the parent-only group vs. 20.2% in the children-only group (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Over the long term, treatment of childhood obesity with the parents as the exclusive agents of change was superior to the conventional approach.
Golan
Moria
M
School of Nutritional Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel. moriag@netvision.net.il
Crow
Scott
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome