Family-Based Behavioral Interventions for Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Childhood obesity affects all systems of the body; it is associated with increased physical (e.g., diabetes) and psychosocial (e.g., depression, bullying) comorbidities and, for 80% of these children, tracking of obesity into adulthood. Early intervention is critical to prevent the onset of adult obesity, and effective treatments exist that have been shown to lead to sustainable weight changes in childhood. Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is a USPSTF guideline-based behavioral weight control intervention that concurrently targets children with obesity and their parents, intervening across all levels of influence, from the individual to the community environment. FBT focuses on successive changes using family support and utilizes strategies such as self-monitoring and reengineering the environment to facilitate behavior change. Basic social and behavioral science research can help us better understand the socioenvironmental factors that constrain or enhance energy balance behaviors, and with this information, we can create more potent and personalized interventions to treat childhood obesity. Additionally, national initiatives to speed the translation of basic science findings into clinical research and treatment development may also facilitate the creation of ever more potent and precise interventions to prevent and treat obesity across the life span.