Maintenance Following a Randomized Trial of a Clinic and Home-based Behavioral Intervention of Obesity in Preschoolers.

OBJECTIVE: To assess maintenance of improved weight outcomes in preschoolers with obesity 6 and 12 months following a randomized clinical trial comparing a home- and clinic-based behavioral intervention (Learning about Activity and Understanding Nutrition for Child Health [LAUNCH]) to motivational interviewing and standard care. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with children between the ages of 2 and 5 years above the 95th percentile for body mass index for age and sex recruited from 27 pediatrician offices across 10 recruitment cycles between March 12, 2012, and June 8, 2015, were followed 6 and 12 months post-treatment. Child and caregiver weight, height, and caloric intake, child physical activity, and home environment were assessed. The primary outcome was maintenance of greater reduction of percent over the 50th percentile body mass index (BMI%50th) by LAUNCH compared with motivational interviewing and standard care at the 6- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Significantly lower child BMI%50th was maintained for LAUNCH compared with motivational interviewing at 12-month follow-up and to standard care at the 6-month follow-up; however, the effect sizes were maintained for comparison with standard care at 12-month follow-up. LAUNCH had significantly lower daily caloric intake compared with motivational interviewing and standard care at both follow-ups and maintained significantly fewer high-calorie foods in the home compared with standard care at 6 and 12 months and compared with motivational interviewing at 12 months. However, caloric intake increased by 12% from post-treatment. LAUNCH caregivers did not maintain improved BMI at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: LAUNCH showed success in reducing weight in preschoolers. However, maintaining treatment gains post-treatment is more difficult. Treatment may need to last longer than 6 months to achieve optimal results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01546727.

Changes in diet quality and home food environment in preschool children following weight management.

BACKGROUND: Family-based obesity treatment interventions can successfully reduce energy intake in preschoolers. An implicit goal of obesity treatment interventions is to improve diet quality, but diet quality has been less examined as a treatment outcome in studies of preschoolers. The purpose of this study was to conduct a secondary analysis comparing the change in diet quality and home food environment in preschoolers assigned to a behavioral family-based obesity intervention (LAUNCH), motivational interviewing (MI) condition, or standard care (STC) condition. METHODS: Three 24-h dietary recalls were completed at baseline and 6-months and were analyzed using NDS-R software; diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010). Availability of foods and beverages in the home was assessed through direct observation using the Home Health Environment tool that classifies foods and beverages as 'red' or 'green' based upon fat and sugar content. Repeated measures linear mixed effects models were used to examine changes in diet quality and home food environment between conditions (LAUNCH, MI, STC). RESULTS: At 6-months, preschoolers in the LAUNCH condition had a higher HEI-2010 total score (62.8 ± 13.7) compared to preschoolers in the MI (54.7 ± 13.4, P = 0.022) and STC (55.8 ± 11.6, P = 0.046) conditions. Regarding the home food environment, families in LAUNCH had significantly less 'red' foods in their home at 6-months (12.5 ± 3.4 'red' foods) compared to families in MI (14.0 ± 3.7 'red' foods, P = 0.030), and STC (14.3 ± 3.4 'red' foods, P = 0.006). There were no statistically significant differences across home food environments for number of 'green' foods. CONCLUSION: Family-based obesity treatment interventions for preschoolers can improve overall diet quality and alter the home food environment through reductions in 'red' foods. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01546727 . Registered March 7, 2012.

Halo or horn? A qualitative study of mothers' experiences with feeding children during the first year following bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a chronic condition that has an intergenerational effect. The aims of the study were to better understand the impact of maternal bariatric surgery on obesogenic risks to child offspring in the home via documenting mothers' thoughts, behaviors, and experiences around child feeding, family meals, and the home food environment during her first year postsurgery. METHOD: Utilizing a mixed-method cross-sectional design, 20 mothers (Mage = 39.6 ±â€¯5.7 years, 75% White, MBMI = 33.6 ±â€¯4.3 kg/m2, Mtime = 7.7 ±â€¯3.1 months post-surgery) of children ages 6-12 years completed validated self-report measures and participated in a focus group. Mother and child heights/weights were measured. RESULTS: The majority of children (N = 20; Mage = 9.2 ±â€¯2.3 years, 65% White, 60% female) were overweight (N = 12; BMI≥85th percentile) and were not meeting the American Academy of Pediatrics healthy eating and activity recommendations to treat/reduce obesity risk. As child zBMI increased, mothers expressed significantly more weight concern (r = 0.59, p = 0.01) and lower obesity-specific quality of life (r = -0.56, p = 0.01), yet assumed less responsibility for child eating choices (r = -0.47, p = 0.04). Qualitative data demonstrated disconnects between mothers' changes to achieve her own healthier weight and applying this knowledge to feeding her child/family. CONCLUSIONS: While bariatric surgery and requisite lifestyle change are effective tools for weight loss at the individual level, there is a great need for innovative family-based solutions. Pediatric obesity is preventable or risk-diminished if addressed early. Maternal bariatric surgery may be a unique (yet missed) opportunity to intervene.

Clinic and Home-Based Behavioral Intervention for Obesity in Preschoolers: A Randomized Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that an innovative skills-based behavioral family clinic and home-based intervention (LAUNCH) would reduce body mass index z score (BMIz) compared with motivational interviewing and to standard care in preschool-aged children with obesity. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with children between the ages of 2 and 5 years above the 95th percentile for body mass index for age and sex recruited from 27 pediatrician offices across 10 recruitment cycles between March 12, 2012 and June 8, 2015. Children were randomized to LAUNCH (an 18-session clinic and home-based behavioral intervention), motivational interviewing (delivered at the same frequency as LAUNCH), or standard care (no formal intervention). Weight and height were measured by assessors blinded to participant assignment. The primary outcome, BMIz at month 6 after adjusting for baseline BMIz, was tested separately comparing LAUNCH with motivational interviewing and LAUNCH with standard care using regression-based analysis of covariance models. RESULTS: A total of 151 of the 167 children randomized met intent-to-treat criteria and 92% completed the study. Children were 76% White and 57% female, with an average age of 55 months and BMI percentile of 98.57, with no demographic differences between the groups. LAUNCH participants demonstrated a significantly greater decrease in BMIz (mean = -0.32, SD = ±0.33) compared with motivational interviewing (mean = -0.05, SD = ±0.27), P < .001, ω2 = 0.74 and compared with standard care (mean = -0.13, SD = ±0.31), P < .004, ω2 = 0.75. CONCLUSIONS: In preschool-age children, an intensive 6-month behavioral skills-based intervention is necessary to reduce obesity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01546727.

Are Preschoolers Meeting the Mark? Comparing the Dietary, Activity, and Sleep Behaviors of Preschoolers With Obesity to National Recommendations.

Objective: National health organizations and expert committees have issued recommendations for health behaviors related to obesity risk. Behavioral and family-based weight management interventions for preschoolers often target improving adherence to these recommendations, but it is unknown how the health behaviors of preschoolers with obesity enrolled in weight control treatments (WCTs) compare with these guidelines. In this study, the dietary intake, activity, and sleep behaviors of preschoolers with obesity enrolled in a family-based behavioral WCT are described and compared with national health behavior recommendations. Methods: Health behaviors of 151 preschoolers with obesity (M age = 4.60, SD = 0.93) enrolled in a clinical trial of a weight management program were measured at baseline through caregiver-report questionnaires, three 24-hr dietary recalls, and accelerometers. Results: In total, 70% of the sample exceeded daily caloric recommendations, only 10 and 5% met recommendations for fruit and vegetable intake, respectively, and only 30% met the recommendation of consuming no sugar-sweetened beverages. The majority of the sample met the daily recommendations for 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous activity (80%), < 2 hr of screen time (68%), and sleep duration (70%). Conclusions: Behavioral weight management interventions for preschoolers with obesity should target the health behaviors where children are not meeting recommendations.

Barriers to Recruitment in Pediatric Obesity Trials: Comparing Opt-in and Opt-out Recruitment Approaches.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of opt-in versus opt-out recruitment methods in pediatric weight management clinical trials. Methods: Recruitment of preschoolers and school-age children across two obesity randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were compared using the same opt-in recruitment approach (parents contact researchers in response to mailings). Opt-in and opt-out strategies (parents send decline postcard in response to mailings if they do not want to participate) were then compared across two preschool obesity RCTs. Results: Opt-in strategies yielded a significantly lower overall recruitment rate among preschoolers compared with school-age children. Among preschoolers, an opt-out strategy demonstrated a significantly higher overall recruitment rate compared with an opt-in strategy with the main advantage in the number of families initially contacted. Conclusions: Opt-out recruitment strategies may be more effective in overcoming the barriers of recruitment in the preschool age-group because it does not rely on parent recognition of obesity.

Cookie or fruit? Relative reinforcing value of snack foods among preschoolers with overweight/obesity compared to healthy weight.

The reinforcing value of food is an important determinant of food intake. Research has yet to examine the relative reinforcing value (RRV) of snack foods in young children with overweight and obesity (OW/OB). The current study compared the RRV of high-energy dense foods (cookies) to low-energy dense foods (fruits) between preschoolers with OW/OB and healthy weight (HW). RRV of cookies and fruits in preschoolers with OW/OB (n = 30; Mage = 4.4 ± 0.84; 60% male) and HW (n = 30; Mage = 4.5 ± 0.85; 70% male) was assessed with a developmentally-tailored computer program which used a progressive fixed ratio reward schedule. The results showed that the RRV of cookies was significantly higher for preschoolers with OW/OB compared to HW while the RRV of fruits was significantly higher for preschoolers with HW compared to OW/OB. These results suggest that cookies are more reinforcing for preschoolers with OW/OB and less reinforcing for preschoolers with HW. Finding ways to reduce the reinforcing value of high-energy dense snack foods and identify alternatives that are as reinforcing for preschoolers is a challenge for weight control treatments.

A Preschool Obesity Treatment Clinical Trial: Reasons Primary Care Providers Declined Referrals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine referral by primary care providers (PCPs) of preschool children with obesity (≥95th percentile for body mass index [BMI]) to a weight management intervention when offered through a randomized clinical trial (RCT), and identify reasons for not referring children. STUDY DESIGN: In phase I, 3 experts in obesity, psychology, and nutrition completed an open card sort and classified PCPs' reasons for declining referral into groups based on similarity of reasons. Categories were then defined and labeled. In phase II, 2 independent sorters placed each decline into 1 of the categories defined in phase I. RESULTS: PCPs referred 78% of eligible children to the RCT. Compared with children declined for referral, referred children had a significantly higher weight (48.4 lb vs 46.1 lb; P < .001) and BMI percentile (97.6 vs 97.0; P < .001). Eleven categories for decline were identified in phase I. In phase II, excellent reliability was obtained between each independent sorter and the phase I categories, and also between the 2 independent sorters (κ values, 0.72-1.0). The most common reason for declining was "family not a good fit" (23.6%), followed by "doesn't believe weight is a problem" (13.9%), "family would not be interested" (12%), and "doesn't believe measurement is accurate" (11.5%). Appropriately, exclusionary criteria of the RCT was a reason as well (11.8%). CONCLUSION: The availability of weight management for preschoolers through RCTs appeared to overcome barriers of resources, time, and credible treatment cited in previous studies. However, concerns about the family's response or interest in a weight management program remained barriers, as did PCPs' perceptions about obesity in young children. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT01546727.

Overlap in Eating Disorders and Obesity in Adolescence.

While eating disorders and obesity have traditionally been conceptualized as separate conditions, recent research suggests important overlap in several areas including etiology, comorbidity, risk factors, and prevention approaches. Examining the commonality among these conditions is particularly important as adolescents who present with both eating disorder symptomology and obesity demonstrate poorer outcomes within weight control treatments and are at greater risk for future development of full threshold eating disorders and additional weight gain. The purpose of this paper is to review the research examining the overlap in prevalence rates for eating disorders and obesity in adolescents, as well as shared etiology, risk factors, and psychiatric and medical comorbidities. Current preventive and treatment approaches also will be discussed, while highlighting the need for more integrated assessment, prevention, and treatment efforts that focus on maladaptive eating and activity patterns shared by both eating disorders and obesity.

Shaking up the system: the role of change in maternal-adolescent communication quality and adolescent weight loss.

OBJECTIVE: The association between directly observed mother-adolescent weight-related communication quality and adolescent percent overweight within the context of an adolescent weight control study was examined. METHODS: As part of a larger study examining the impact of a behavioral weight control intervention that included attention to parent-adolescent communication (Standard Behavioral Treatment + Enhanced Parenting, SBT + EP) compared with an efficacious Standard Behavioral Treatment (SBT), 38 mother-adolescent dyads participated in a weight-related videotaped discussion. Discussions were taped and collected pre- and postintervention. RESULTS: No significant differences emerged in the quality of mother-adolescent communication between SBT (n = 19) and SBT + EP (n = 19) participants, nor was baseline mother-adolescent communication quality associated with adolescents' weight loss in either condition. However, a decline in communication quality was associated with better outcomes for adolescents participating in the SBT group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary evidence that a change in mother-adolescent communication is associated with successful weight loss among adolescents.

Not as easy as pie. Disentangling the theoretical and applied components of children's health knowledge.

While there has been substantial research on children's dietary habits and physical activity level, there has been little work linking children's understanding of these concepts and how they apply them. This study aims to elucidate the association between two concepts that have not been distinguished in previous work; theoretical and applied health knowledge. Four-year-old children completed measures of theoretical and applied health knowledge regarding vegetables, fatty foods, physical, and sedentary activities. Results indicate that children's theoretical and applied health knowledge are distinct concepts that are positively associated. That is, children who accurately identify the relative health of foods and activities are more likely to be able to select foods and activities that promote their body's health.

A theory-based approach to teaching young children about health: A recipe for understanding.

The theory-theory account of conceptual development posits that children's concepts are integrated into theories. Concept learning studies have documented the central role that theories play in children's learning of experimenter-defined categories, but have yet to extensively examine complex, real-world concepts such as health. The present study examined whether providing young children with coherent and causally-related information in a theory-based lesson would facilitate their learning about the concept of health. This study used a pre-test/lesson/post-test design, plus a five month follow-up. Children were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: theory (i.e., 20 children received a theory-based lesson); nontheory (i.e., 20 children received a nontheory-based lesson); and control (i.e., 20 children received no lesson). Overall, the results showed that children in the theory condition had a more accurate conception of health than children in the nontheory and control conditions, suggesting the importance of theories in children's learning of complex, real-world concepts.

Body Image, Assimilation, and Weight of Immigrant Adolescents in the United States: A Person-Centered Analysis.

Adolescence is a critical developmental period as youth explore their body image and work to establish an identity. The stress of identity and body image development can be exacerbated by acculturative stress faced by immigrant adolescents. Using a person-centered analysis, we investigated immigrant adolescents' (n = 57) profiles based on assimilation to the United States (US), weight, and body image dissatisfaction. Analyses included an exploratory two-step clustering technique using maximum likelihood estimation procedures to assign class membership. Follow-up analyses then examined latent class membership by adolescent age, gender, culture of origin, and immigration generation. Results indicated several meaningful latent groups of adolescents based on their BID, acculturation, and BMI. These profiles included one in which adolescents who were underweight and more assimilated to US culture also reported more satisfaction with their body image. A second profile emerged of adolescents who were normal weight or overweight and less assimilated, who also reported higher levels of body image dissatisfaction, with a desire to be thinner. The third cluster profile included adolescents who were of normal weight, but were higher on assimilation and were among the most dissatisfied with their body image. Our findings suggest that immigrant adolescents at all levels of acculturation are internalizing the thin body ideal prominent in the US, with a variety of implications for their sense of body image and BMI. Implications for mental and physical health care for immigrant adolescents are discussed.

Family Meal Frequency, Diet, and Family Functioning: A Systematic Review With Meta-analyses.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the direction and magnitude of the relation between family meal frequency and dietary and family functioning outcomes in children (aged 2-18 years). DESIGN: Systematic literature review with meta-analysis. METHODS: Independent electronic searches, 1 for each outcome of interest, were conducted across 5 databases: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO. Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed and published in English in the US through December 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Diet and family functioning. RESULTS: Dietary outcomes showed some evidence of a positive association between family meal frequency and fruits, vegetables, fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, and the Healthy Eating Index. There was less clear evidence of this relation in snacks, fast food, and desserts. A positive association was found between family meal frequency or dinner family meal frequency and family functioning outcomes. All studies included had cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: There is some evidence to show a positive relation between family meal frequency and dietary outcomes. There is stronger evidence for the relation with family functioning outcomes. Most articles included in the systematic reviews were excluded from meta-analysis owing to inadequate data and high methodological diversity across exposure and outcome variables.

Learning about Activity and Understanding Nutrition for Child Health (LAUNCH): Rationale, design, and implementation of a randomized clinical trial of a family-based pediatric weight management program for preschoolers.

Obesity affects nearly 2 million preschool age children in the United States and is not abating. However, research on interventions for already obese preschoolers is limited. To address this significant gap in the literature, we developed an intervention targeting obesity reduction in 2 to 5year olds, Learning about Activity and Understanding Nutrition for Child Health (LAUNCH). This paper describes the rationale, design, participant enrollment, and implementation of a 3-arm randomized, parallel-group clinical trial comparing LAUNCH to a motivational-interviewing intervention (MI) and standard care (STC), respectively. Whereas LAUNCH was designed as a skills based intervention, MI focused on addressing the guardian's motivation to make changes in diet and activity and providing tools to do so at the guardian's level of readiness to implement changes. Child body mass index z-score was the primary outcome, assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment (Month 6), and 6 and 12month follow-ups (Months 12 and 18). Mechanisms of weight change (e.g., dietary intake, physical activity) and environmental factors associated with weight (e.g., foods available in the home, caregiver diet) were also assessed. This study is unique because it is one of the few randomized controlled trials to examine a developmentally informed, clinic and home skills based behavioral family intervention for preschoolers who are already obese. Being obese during the preschool years increases the likelihood of remaining obese as an adult and is associated with serious health conditions; if this intervention is successful, it has the potential to change the health trajectories for young children with obesity.

A Review of the Structural Characteristics of Family Meals with Children in the United States.

Family meals are associated with a range of positive outcomes among children and adolescents. There is inconsistency, however, in the way in which studies have defined and measured family meals. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature was conducted to determine how studies describe family meals with the use of structural characteristics. The current review focused on studies in the United States that included children ages 2-18 y. A total of 33 studies were identified that characterized family meals with the use of ≥1 of the following structural features: frequency or mean number of family meals per week, length of family meal, people present at meal, and where meals occurred. No study characterized family meals by using all 4 family meal features, whereas most studies (81%) characterized family meals by using frequency or mean number of meals per week. Findings not only provide an initial understanding of the structural features used to define family meals but also point to the importance of developing a more comprehensive, sensitive assessment that can accurately capture the complex and multidimensional nature of family meals.

Treating Obesity in Preschoolers: A Review and Recommendations for Addressing Critical Gaps.

Developing interventions targeting obesity reduction in preschoolers is an emergent area. Although intensive, multicomponent interventions seem a promising approach to preschool obesity reduction, this review identifies and discusses approaches to 3 critical gaps (poor reach to families from low-income and minority backgrounds, lack of sufficient evidence to determine the most effective and efficient treatment components and approaches to treating obesity in early childhood, and lack of consensus on how best to discern intervention effectiveness) that need to be addressed to advance the preschool obesity literature.

Family factors that characterize adolescents with severe obesity and their role in weight loss surgery outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively assess family characteristics of adolescents with severe obesity and whether family factors impact weight loss outcomes following weight loss surgery (WLS). METHODS: Multisite prospective data from 138 adolescents undergoing WLS and primary caregivers (adolescent: Mage = 16.9; MBMI = 51.5 kg/m2 ; caregiver: Mage = 44.5; 93% female) and 83 nonsurgical comparators (NSComp: adolescent: Mage = 16.1; MBMI = 46.9 kg/m2 ; caregiver: Mage = 43.9; 94% female) were collected using standardized measures at presurgery/baseline and at 1 and 2 years. RESULTS: The majority (77.3%) of caregivers had obesity, with rates of caregiver WLS significantly higher in the WLS (23.8%) versus NSComp group (3.7%, P < 0.001). Family dysfunction was prevalent (≈1 in every two to three families), with rates higher for NSComp than the WLS group. For the WLS group, preoperative family factors (i.e., caregiver BMI or WLS history, dysfunction, social support) were not significant predictors of adolescent weight loss at 1 and 2 years postoperatively, although change in family functioning over time emerged as a significant correlate of percent weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of severe obesity in caregivers as well as family dysfunction were clinically noteworthy, although not related to adolescent weight loss success following WLS. However, change in family communication and emotional climate over time emerged as potential targets to optimize weight loss outcomes.

The immigrant paradox and adolescent obesity: examining health behaviors as potential mediators.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescent obesity is a national public health concern with significant immediate and long-term health consequences. Certain social groups in the United States, such as immigrant adolescents, have been identified as particularly vulnerable to overweight and obesity. A pattern of results coined the "immigrant paradox" that refers to the phenomenon wherein obesity is less prevalent in first-generation immigrant youth when compared with second- and third-generation peers. Seeking to better understand this concerning trend, this study examined the mediating role of several health behaviors on the relation between generation status and body mass index (BMI). METHOD: Participants were 2292 Latino immigrant adolescents and emerging adults enrolled in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. RESULTS: Multiple linear regression models indicated that sedentary behaviors partially mediated the relation between generation status and BMI. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate the unique role that sedentary behaviors play in explaining weight gain among Latino immigrants.