Health Outcomes of Youth in Clinical Pediatric Weight Management Programs in POWER.

OBJECTIVE: To describe treatment outcomes of children and adolescents enrolled in the Pediatric Obesity Weight Evaluation Registry, a consortium of multicomponent pediatric weight management programs in the US. STUDY DESIGN: This multicenter prospective observational cohort study, established in 2013, includes youth (2-18 years of age) with obesity enrolled from 31 Pediatric Obesity Weight Evaluation Registry (POWER) sites over a 2-year period and followed up to 12 months. Weight status was evaluated by the percentage of the 95th percentile for body mass index (%BMIp95). Associations of weight status outcomes with patient characteristics and program exposure were analyzed with multivariable mixed effects modeling. RESULTS: We included 6454 children and adolescents (median age, 11 years; IQR, 9-14 years; 53% white, 32% Hispanic; 73% with severe obesity) who were enrolled in POWER. Median changes in %BMIp95 for this cohort were -1.88 (IQR, -5.8 to 1.4), -2.50 (IQR, -7.4 to 1.8), -2.86 (IQR, -8.7 to 1.9), at 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 of months follow-up, respectively (all P < .05). Older age (≥12 years), greater severity of obesity, and Hispanic race/ethnicity were associated with better improvement in %BMIp95. A 5-percentage point decrease in %BMIp95 was associated with improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, treatment in pediatric weight management programs is associated with a modest median decrease in BMI as measured by change in %BMIp95. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings, as well as to identify additional strategies to enhance the effectiveness of these multicomponent interventions for youth with severe obesity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02121132.

A Review of Modifiable Risk Factors for Severe Obesity in Children Ages 5 and Under.

Early-onset severe obesity in childhood presents a significant clinical challenge signaling an urgent need for effective and sustainable interventions. A large body of literature examines overweight and obesity, but little focuses specifically on the risk factors for severe obesity in children ages 5 and younger. This narrative review identified modifiable risk factors associated with severe obesity in children ages 5 and younger: nutrition (consuming sugar sweetened beverages and fast food), activity (low frequency of outdoor play and excessive screen time), behaviors (lower satiety responsiveness, sleeping with a bottle, lack of bedtime rules, and short sleep duration), and socio-environmental risk factors (informal child care setting, history of obesity in the mother, and gestational diabetes). The lack of literature on this topic highlights the need for additional research on potentially modifiable risk factors for early-onset severe obesity.

Role of carbohydrate modification in weight management among obese children: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness and safety of carbohydrate (CHO)-modified diets with a standard portion-controlled (PC) diet in obese children. STUDY DESIGN: Obese children (n=102) aged 7-12 years were randomly assigned to a 3-month intervention of a low-CHO (LC), reduced glycemic load (RGL), or standard PC diet, along with weekly dietary counseling and biweekly group exercise. Anthropometry, dietary adherence, and clinical measures were evaluated at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months. Analyses applied intention-to-treat longitudinal mixed models. RESULTS: Eighty-five children (83%) completed the 12-month assessment. Daily caloric intake decreased from baseline to all time points for all diet groups (P<.0001), although LC diet adherence was persistently lower (P<.0002). At 3 months, body mass index z score was lower in all diet groups (LC, -0.27 ± 0.04; RGL, -0.20 ± 0.04; PC, -0.21 ± 0.04; P<.0001) and was maintained at 6 months, with similar results for waist circumference and percent body fat. At 12 months, participants in all diet groups had lower body mass index z scores than at baseline (LC, -0.21 ± 0.04; RGL, -0.28 ± 0.04; PC, -0.31 ± 0.04; P<.0001), and lower percent body fat, but no reductions in waist circumference were maintained. All diets demonstrated some improved clinical measures. CONCLUSION: Diets with modified CHO intake were as effective as a PC diet for weight management in obese children. However, the lower adherence to the LC diet suggests that this regimen is more difficult for children to follow, particularly in the long term.

Predictors of attrition from a pediatric weight management program.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined characteristics of families who initiated weight management treatment for their obese child/adolescent and withdrew prematurely. STUDY DESIGN: Participants (body mass index > or =95(th) percentile) were enrolled in a pediatric interdisciplinary weight management clinic. Retrospective chart review revealed noncompleters (n=116) completed > or =1 visit(s) but withdrew before completion of the initial 4-month treatment phase. Completers (n=96) completed the initial treatment phase. Completers and noncompleters were compared on baseline demographic, psychological, clinical, and laboratory measures. Regression analyses assessed the degree to which these factors predicted attrition. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of patients withdrew prematurely from treatment. Noncompleters were more likely to be Medicaid recipients, black, older, and self-report greater depressive symptomatology and lower self-concept. CONCLUSIONS: These data have implications for the design of pediatric weight management intervention models that improve the rate of completion for economically disadvantaged and minority youth. Screening for depressive symptomatology may identify patients at risk for treatment dropout who could be targeted for increased support and retention strategies.