title: Importance of age for 3-year continuous behavioral obesity treatment success and dropout rate.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether first year weight loss, age, and socioeconomic background correlate with the success rate of continuous long-term behavioral obesity treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a 3-year longitudinal study, obese children (n = 684) were divided into three groups based on age at the start of treatment, age 6-9 years, 10-13 years, and 14-16 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) decline was age-dependent (p = 0.001), independently of adjustment for missing data: -1.8 BMI-SDS units in the youngest, -1.3 in the middle age group, and -0.5 in the oldest age group. SES and parental BMI status did not affect the results. 30% of the adolescents remained in treatment at year 3. There was only a weak correlation between BMI-SDS change after 1 and 3 years: r = 0.51 (p < 0.001). Among children with no BMI-SDS reduction during year 1 (n = 46), 40% had a clinically significantly reduced BMI-SDS after year 3.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Behavioral treatment should be initiated at an early age to increase the chance for good results. Childhood obesity treatment should be continued for at least 3 years, regardless of the initial change in BMI-SDS.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatrics, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pernilla
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Danielsson
authors.forename: Viktoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kowalski
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nyberg
authors.forename: Orjan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ekblom
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marcus
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010290:Parents; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D061217:Weight Reduction Programs