101525: Treating Childhood Obesity

About the Course:

Objective: To analyze whether caregiver and family characteristics predict success in a family-based lifestyle intervention program for children and adolescents. Method: Participants were 111 overweight and obese children (7-15 years) who attended a family-based weight-reduction program. BMI and BMI standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) of index child, and BMI of family members, family adversity characteristics, depression and attachment attitudes of the primary caregiver were assessed. Results: Risk of non-response (≤5% reduction of BMI-SDS or dropout) was elevated in older children, cases with obese sibling(s), maternal depression, and avoidant attachment attitude. In a logistic regression analysis, maternal depression, attachment attitude and age of index child explained common variance while the presence of obese siblings explained unique variance in non-responding. Conclusion: To meet the specific needs of all participating families and to prevent the discouraging experience of failure in weight-control interventions, our data suggest that special support should be provided to adolescents with obese siblings, and cases of maternal depression, and avoidant attachment attitude.

Journal/Publisher:

Wiley Publications

Publication Date:

April, 2009

Author

Ursula Pauli-Pott

About the Author:

Institut für Medizinische Psychologie Fachbereich Humanmedizin der Universität Gießen

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for Psychologists, Child & Youth Psychiatrists, Trainers, Teacher, Nutritionists who seek knowledge about outpatient weight reduction programs for children and adolescents

Course Objectives:

1. Describe rates of participants who drop-out, fail to loose weight and succeed in weight reduction programs for children and adolescents.

2. Descibe several risk factors for failure which had been identified in the literature.

3. Describe the importance of considering the whole family in weight-reduction treatment.