Parent-Child Obesity Program Causes Delayed But Significant Improvement In Body Composition Among At-Risk Youth

Abstract

More than 13 million U.S. children are obese; complications are expected to progress throughout adulthood, increasing the risk of premature mortality. Although proper nutrition and exercise provide short and long-term health benefits, translating this information to a community-setting has been largely ineffective. It is important to identify programmatic variables that demonstrate success in weight management. PURPOSE: To observe the effect of a family-oriented exercise and nutritional intervention on body composition in overweight and obese children and adolescents. METHODS: Twelve subjects (ages 7-16) were enrolled in a childhood obesity program upon referral by their primary care physician. Subjects engaged in 45 min of aerobic and flexibility training twice weekly for 18 weeks. Each exercise session was followed by 30 min of nutritional counseling. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and body fat percent (BF%) were measured throughout the intervention. One-way repeated measures ANOVA determined anthropometric differences at baseline, midpoint, and at the end of the intervention. RESULTS: Subjects were 12.3±2.4 years old and 44.4% were obese, having a mean BMI of 29.8±4.5 kg/m2, BF% of 38.6±6.8%, HC of 99.85 cm, WC of 96.10 cm, and hip-to-waist ratio of 0.96. From baseline to follow-up, subjects decreased BMI by 1.0 kg/m2 (p=0.011), WC by 4.69 cm (p=0.031), and hip-to-waist ratio by 0.05 (p=0.043); the reduction in BF% failed to reach significance (p=0.060). Repeated measures ANOVA identified reductions in bodyweight (1.09 kg; p<0.001), WC (3.44 cm; p=0.049), and hip-to-waist ratio (.05; p=0.037) between weeks 9 and 18. Differences for the same measurements between weeks 1 and 9 were insignificant (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Despite our small sample, a combined exercise and nutritional counseling intervention improved anthropometric profiles of obese and overweight children and adolescents over the course of 18 weeks. The greatest improvements took place after 9 weeks, indicating the importance of perseverance when seeking body composition improvement in this demographic.