The results were published in the advanced online edition of the journal Obesity.
Kerri N. Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, and colleagues set out to assess whether parent-only groups are an equally viable method for weight loss.
“Our results showed that the parent-only group was not inferior in terms of child weight loss, parent weight loss and child physical activity,” said Boutelle. “While further research is needed, our work suggests that parent-only groups are a viable method for providing childhood obesity treatment.”
Recent data suggests at 31 percent of children in the United States are overweight or obese, or between four and five million children. Current treatment programs generally require participation by both parents and children in a plan that combines nutrition education and exercise with behavior therapy techniques.
“Parents are the most significant people in a child’s environment, serving as the first and most important teachers,” said Boutelle “Since they play a significant role in any weight-loss program for children, we wondered if the same results could be achieved by working with just the parents, without the child coming to the clinic.”
