[Group therapy for the treatment of obesity in children and adolescents]. / Terapia de grupo para el tratamiento de la obesidad infantil.

THERAPY: Although obesity is one of the leading health problems in developed countries, effective treatment is lacking. The aim of the present study was to determine whether group therapy is more efficient in inducing weigh loss than individual therapy in the pediatric age group. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Fifty obese patients, 15 preadolescents and 33 adolescents (12 boys and 23 girls) were studied. In all patients, dietary intake was modified to reduce calorie intake. Initially all patients were followed-up individually every 3 months (individual therapy) until the beginning of group therapy when the patients were seen monthly in groups of 10-15 patients with their parents (preadolescents) or alone (adolescents). In the group sessions, talks were given about diet and exercise. In each session, the patient who had shown the greatest improvement in habits and weight loss received a prize. The patients were followed-up for 2 years, with individual therapy in the first year and group therapy in the second. Differences in body mass index (BMI) z-score before the beginning of therapy and during therapy were analyzed using Student's paired T test. RESULTS: With individual therapy, no changes in BMI z-score were observed throughout the study. In contrast, with group therapy, BMI z-score decreased in all the groups studied. During the 1-year follow-up with individual therapy, 60 % of the patients gained more than 5 kg. With group therapy, only 10 % of patients gained more than 5 kg. CONCLUSIONS: In obese children and adolescents, group therapy was more efficient than individual therapy in inducing weight loss.