Parental obesity and higher pre-intervention BMI reduce the likelihood of a multidisciplinary childhood obesity program to succeed - A clinical observation

Objective: To assess the effects and identify factors associated with success of a combined, structured multidisciplinary weight management program in obese children and adolescents. Methods: Seventy-seven obese children (age 6-16 years) participated in a 12-month combined dietary-behavioral-exercise intervention. Thirty-seven (age and maturity comparable) obese children who did not participate in the structured program served as controls. Body weight, BMI, and BMI percentiles were measured at baseline, after 6 months, and at the end of the intervention. Results: The combined intervention was associated with a significant decrease in BMI (from 25.9 ± 0.4 to 24.5 ± 0.4 kg/m², p <0.0005) and BMI percentile (from 97.3 ± 0.2% to 92.6 ± 0.9%, p <0.0005). In contrast, obese children who did not participate in the structured program gained weight (from 51.4 ± 3.6 to 57.7 ± 3.7 kg, p <0.0005), increased their BMI (from 25.2 ± 1.0 to 26.6 ± 0.9 kg/m², p <0.0005), and had a non-significant increase in BMI percentiles (from 94.9 ± 0.8% to 95.4 ± 0.9%, NS). Children with higher BMI percentiles and parental overweight tended to respond less favorably to the combined multidisciplinary program (p <0.01). Conclusions: A prolonged (12 mo), combined, structured multidisciplinary intervention for childhood obesity resulted in a significant decrease in BMI and BMI percentiles. Higher pre-intervention BMI percentiles and parental obesity were associated with less favorable responses to the combined intervention.