Intervention in overweight children improves body mass index (BMI) and physical activity

Background: childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in family medicine with few clinical treatment options. we implemented and evaluated a group office-visit intervention by family physicians for overweight children and their parents,emphasizing nutrition and physical activity within a resiliency psychosocial model. methods: the intervention lasted for 3 months,with half of the children crossing over to intervention after 6 months in the study. participants included 35 children who met eligibility criteria of being in third through fifth grades and having a body mass index (bmi) above the 85th percentile. the 3-month,12-session intervention,choices, included topics on nutrition,physical activity,and resiliency. the sessions were developed for delivery by a family physician and a nutritionist who received training in positive psychology and resilience skills. main outcome measures were bmi z scores for age and sex and z scores for weight by age and sex,as well as qualitative interviews to understand individual and family processes. results: the intervention resulted in a significant effect on one primary outcome,bmi z score (- 0.138 per 9 months [p = .017]) and a trend toward significance on the weight for age z score (- 0.87 per 9 months [p = .09]). the net shift of activity from the low metabolic equivalents (mets) to the high mets had an intervention effect of 2.84 mets (p = .037). families reported lasting changes in behaviors and attitudes. discussion: the innovative approach used in this study demonstrated modest efficacy in reducing bmi z score,changing physical activity levels,and possibly shifting family dynamics.