My Overweight Child: Weight Management Program for Kids Produced Results, but Only Temporarily

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Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Weight Management Program for Kids Produced Results, but Only Temporarily

Obese children who participated in a family weight management program were unable to sustain their weight loss after one year.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh studied 192 children ages eight to 12 years old, who were heavier than 99 percent of other children their age and sex.
After six months, children enrolled in the weight-loss program lost 8 percent of their excess weight.
However, within a year, the children were at the same weight as obese children not in such programs, and within 18 months, their gains in health markers had disappeared.
The children who lost weight had previously shown gains such as reduced waist size, lowered blood pressure, and so forth.

“Interventions for obese children have health benefits, but it has to be sustained over time. The treatment needs to somehow be continued,” said Dr. Marsha Marcus, author of the study.

This study appeared in the journal Pediatrics.

Labels: weight loss, weight management