Author:

Keywords:

Children, Obesity, Social Sciences, Psychology, Developmental, Psychology, treatment, children, obesity, psychological well-being, FOLLOW-UP, CHILDHOOD, DISORDER, ADOLESCENTS, Adolescent, Body Mass Index, Child, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Behavior, Hospitalization, Humans, Life Style, Male, Self Concept, Surveys and Questionnaires, Weight Loss, 1701 Psychology, Developmental & Child Psychology, 5201 Applied and developmental psychology, 5203 Clinical and health psychology, 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: Evaluated the effects of a 10-month inpatient treatment program and implemented as a nondiet healthy lifestyle approach. In addition, the effects of two extended treatment programs were compared to a standard cognitive-behavioral treatment program for maintenance of the treatment gains. METHODS: A within-subjects design was employed to evaluate treatment outcome, including a 14-month follow-up. Children (N = 122) ranged in age from 7 to 17 years (M = 12.7 years) with a mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 32.5, expressed as a percentage of overweight (M = 77.4%). RESULTS: The children lost 49.0% of their weight during the course of treatment. Comparing baseline with the 14-month follow-up, a weight loss of 31.7% was maintained. The children continued to show healthy eating behavior at follow-up, and their psychological well-being had improved. No significant interaction effects were found for the extended coping programs. CONCLUSION: An inpatient cognitive-behavioral nondiet approach is a promising treatment option for childhood obesity, with lasting effects throughout the 14-month posttreatment.