P80 The Effect of Attendance on Anthropometric Outcomes of Children Completing a Pediatric Weight Management Program for Latino Families

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<h3>Background</h3> Latinos have some of the highest rates of pediatric obesity compared to other ethnic minorities. Treatment efforts should include a multidisciplinary and culturally adapted approach. Program attendance has been shown to influence health outcomes, yet has not been explored with pediatric programs targeting low-income and ethnic minority populations. <h3>Objective</h3> To evaluate whether attendance improves anthropometric outcomes among Latino children who are overweight/obese and participating in a family based pediatric weight management program. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> Latino children participated in Vidas Activas y Familias Saludables (VALÉ), a multidisciplinary group-based program which focuses on diet, exercise, behavior modification, and adaptation to the Latino community. Latino children aged 5 to 9 years with BMI-for-age ≥85th percentile (overweight/obese category) were recruited through clinics and schools between 2017 and 2019. Participants and their families met approximately 90 minutes per week over the 10-week intervention. <h3>Measurable Outcome/Analysis</h3> Family attendance at each session was recorded. Anthropometric measurements including waist circumference, body fat (using bioelectrical impedance), height and weight for the assessment of BMI-for-age Z scores (compared to CDC growth charts) were measured pre-, and immediately-post the intervention. As data were non-normally distributed the relationship between attendance and anthropometric outcomes were analyzed via SPSS using Spearman correlation and Kruskal Wallis H test. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 57 participants completed both pre and post assessments with 7 who attended 0-40% of sessions, 12 attended 50-60%, 16 attended 70-80%, and 22 attended ≥90%. Although the median change in BMI, BMI Z, and waist circumference improved with higher attendance, no significant associations were observed between number of sessions attended and anthropometric outcomes. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Higher program attendance did not affect anthropometric outcomes of children participating in pediatric weight management program targeting low-income Latino families. The limited sample size available may have affected these results.