Predictors of Retention and BMI Loss or Stabilization in Obese Youth Enrolled in a Weight Loss Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate predictors for intervention dropout and successful reduction of metabolic syndrome risk factors among obese children enrolled in a short-term, clinic-based weight-loss intervention. DESIGN, SETTING, SUBJECTS: Retrospective database review of 1080 children 8 months-17 y.o. seen a a pediatric obesity clinic. INTERVENTIONS: Behavior modification counseling to induce change in dietary and exercise choices. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 1). Pre-/post-intervention change in body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, and cholesterol (LDL, HDL, & total). 2) Predictors of successful decrease in BMI and clinic drop-out. ANALYSIS: Paired t-tests for pre-/post-intervention comparisons. Linear regression to assess predictors of success and predictors of drop-out, with adjustment for age, gender, race, insurance status, and service area. RESULTS: Among children evaluated, adolescent females were most likely to achieve successful decrease in BMI, insulin level, and LDL cholesterol post-intervention. Nearly 40% of children dropped out early in the intervention. Predictors of drop out included age <6y, public insurance status, follow-up scheduled during summer months, and residence in a tertiary service area. CONCLUSIONS: Clinic-based weight loss interventions can lead to successful improvements in BMI and other metabolic parameters in pediatric populations and may be more likely among adolescent females than in younger children or males. Drop-out is common, particularly among younger children, children with public insurance and children scheduled for follow-up in the summer. Identification of these drop-out predictors in individual patients may help in targeting children likely to succeed in short-term, clinic-based, weight-loss interventions.

Predictors of retention and BMI loss or stabilization in obese youth enrolled in a weight loss intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate predictors for intervention dropout and successful reduction of metabolic syndrome risk factors among obese children enrolled in a short-term, clinic-based weight-loss intervention. DESIGN, SETTING, SUBJECTS: Retrospective database review of 1080 children 8 months to 17 years. seen a pediatric obesity clinic. INTERVENTIONS: Behavior modification counseling to induce change in dietary and exercise choices. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Pre-/post-intervention change in body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, and cholesterol (LDL, HDL, & total). (2) Predictors of successful decrease in BMI and clinic drop-out. ANALYSIS: Paired t-tests for pre-/post-intervention comparisons. Linear regression to assess predictors of success and predictors of drop-out, with adjustment for age, gender, race, insurance status, and service area. RESULTS: Among children evaluated, adolescent females were most likely to achieve successful decrease in BMI, insulin level, and LDL cholesterol post-intervention. Nearly 40% of children dropped out early in the intervention. Predictors of drop out included age <6 years, public insurance status, follow-up scheduled during summer months, and residence in a tertiary service area. CONCLUSIONS: Clinic-based weight loss interventions can lead to successful improvements in BMI and other metabolic parameters in pediatric populations and may be more likely among adolescent females than in younger children or males. Drop-out is common, particularly among younger children, children with public insurance and children scheduled for follow-up in the summer. Identification of these drop-out predictors in individual patients may help in targeting children likely to succeed in short-term, clinic-based, weight-loss interventions.

Risk and protective factors for juvenile eating disorders.

Eating disorders are prevalent and complicated disorders which are difficult to treat. Unicausal and main effects models are not likely to do justice to the complexity of psychopathology encountered, as one considers etiology and pathogenesis. Risk and protection can arise out of several domains: biological, psychological and social. Risk and protective factors aggregate in specific developmental phases and interact to produce adverse outcomes. Temperamental factors, eating dysregulation, attachment, deficient self regulation and sociocultural ideals of health and beauty all contribute to pathogenesis. Applying the insights of developmental psychopathology to these disorders has considerable potential to lead to early and preventive interventions. Reviewing the current literature from this perspective and updating a similar discussion from 8 years ago, we witness a continued accumulation of quality empirical data. Compared to previous reviews, the field's attention has shifted to psychosocial/cultural domains relevant to eating, away from biological risk. In the aggregate, these data make possible the increasing differentiation of eating disorders from other psychopathology, and the specific pathways in which anorexia and bulimia may develop. Understanding of risk and vulnerability still outweighs our knowledge of protective factors and resilience. While an ideal study would be longitudinal, such studies are still extremely difficult to conduct and costly, thus, forcing us to further our understanding from lagged designs, cross-sectional data and case control studies. While these have many limitations, they do seem to produce an increasingly coherent account of the development of these disorders and prepare us for more targeted and longitudinal study of high risk populations.