BACKGROUND: The management of obesity is complex and it must be multidisciplinary. Behavioral treatments for control of childhood obesity are based on family; these have a high degree of efficiency. It has been argued that when children and their parents are the main goal of the changes of behavior as a group, results of weight loss generally are better. The objective of this study was to establish the effect of an intervention based on family to reduce weight in students with overweight or obesity. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study in schoolchildren from 6 to 12 years of age, from a family medicine unit in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, México. The intervention group corresponded to 30 schoolchildren with overweight or obesity, and one or both of their parents with overweight or obesity; the control group included 30 schoolchildren with overweight or obesity, and normal-weight parents. Weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline, monthly, and at the end of the study. Student t test was used to contrast quantitative variables using the SPSS v.15 program. RESULTS: There were differences in weight, but not in BMI, probably due to the effect of size. Compared with the control group, a higher proportion of schoolchildren showed an improvement with regard to nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: The family intervention is basic for the treatment of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: The management of obesity is complex and it must be multidisciplinary. Behavioral treatments for control of childhood obesity are based on family; these have a high degree of efficiency. It has been argued that when children and their parents are the main goal of the changes of behavior as a group, results of weight loss generally are better. The objective of this study was to establish the effect of an intervention based on family to reduce weight in students with overweight or obesity. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study in schoolchildren from 6 to 12 years of age, from a family medicine unit in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, México. The intervention group corresponded to 30 schoolchildren with overweight or obesity, and one or both of their parents with overweight or obesity; the control group included 30 schoolchildren with overweight or obesity, and normal-weight parents. Weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline, monthly, and at the end of the study. Student t test was used to contrast quantitative variables using the SPSS v.15 program. RESULTS: There were differences in weight, but not in BMI, probably due to the effect of size. Compared with the control group, a higher proportion of schoolchildren showed an improvement with regard to nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: The family intervention is basic for the treatment of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren.