Childhood Obesity Treatment: A Maintenance Approach

Childhood Obesity (CO) prevalence in the United States has tripled in recent decades, and nearly 30% of children aged 6 to 11 are overweight or obese. CO is a serious public health problem, and is associated with both immediate and long-term health problems (e.g., hypertension, type 2 diabetes, asthma) and psychosocial problems (e.g., social isolation, depression, eating disorder symptomatology). Furthermore, CO is a significant risk factor for adult obesity with several prospective studies showing that, if untreated, about half of overweight grade-school children remain obese as adults. Fortunately, children respond favorably to family-based behavioral weight loss treatment (FBT), the most well-established intervention for the treatment of overweight in children 7 to 12 years old. Weight loss treatments for overweight children have been associated with significant physical and psychosocial health benefits; however, despite initial success with lifestyle interventions, considerable relapse often occurs once treatment ends. Clearly, CO is a significant public health problem, and long-term maintenance of weight loss remains a priority to stem the increased costs to the individual and society. Therefore, we propose to conduct a multi-site randomized controlled trial with overweight children (N=241) and their parents (N=241) \[for a total N=482\]. All participants will complete 4 months of FBT and then be randomized to one of three, 8-month maintenance conditions: (1) Weight Maintenance Therapy, who will receive SFM - Low Dose \[LOW\] (16 sessions over 8 months), (2) Intensive Weight Maintenance Therapy, who will receive SFM - High Dose \[HIGH\] (32 sessions over 8 months), or (3) Current Standard of Care, who will receive Weight Maintenance Education (16 sessions over 8 months). Relative weight and associated outcomes will be assessed at 0 (pre-weight loss), 4 (post-weight loss), 12 (post-maintenance treatment),18 months and 24 months. Additionally, brief assessments will be conducted at four points during the course of maintenance treatment to measure presumed mediators.