RESULTS OF A NON- PHARMACOLOGICAL TRIAL FOR WEIGHT LOSS OF OBESE CHILDREN-PARENTS PAIRS

BACKGROUND: Family-based interventions are the most well-established way for the treatment of childhood obesity.For being applicable and sustainable; these interventions should be assessed in different community settings. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two methods of nutritional intervention on weight loss of of obese children-parents pairs. METHODS: This 12-week non-pharmacologic trial. With one year of follow up was conducted among 120 participants (60 pairs of obese children- parents). They were randomly assigned into two groups of equal number: one group received a diet with an energy content based on the calorie requirement for height, and the other group received dietary counseling about healthy nutrition for weight loss. RESULTS: Comparison of baseline characteristics vs. one-year follow up, showed that the mean value of body mass index decreased significantly in children, but not in their parents. In addition both groups of children had favorable changes in the mean consumption frequency of the studied food groups. The difference was not significantly different between the children in these two groups. CONCLUSION: This study showed that dietary counseling, consisting of simple and applicable improvement in dietary habits can be integrated to the usual diet of the family, and will result in sustainable changes. Furthermore, it confirmed the efficacy and sustainability of dietary counseling for weight control of obese children but not their parents; and emphasized on the importance of healthy lifestyle establishment, from early life rather than trying to change it during adulthood.