Study Finds Self-Help Programs Effective in Helping Children Lose Weight

Not everybody can afford clinic-based therapy sessions for weight reduction for kids. Now, a new study has shown that simple, basic steps can be just as effective as other weight-control programs.

Research carried out by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, shows that self-help programs that are monitored by clinicians help overweight children better control their weight.

Lead author of the study Kerri Boutelle explained the self-help program.

"The guided self-help treatment includes offering structure along with a self-help program to help families stick to the program. Parents and their children are given a manual, and each week they read a chapter and try to apply the skills at home. Every other week they come in to our clinic at UC San Diego School of Medicine for 20 minutes and discuss how things were going with an interventionist. This is very different than traditional weight control programs where parents and kids come in every week for an hour-and-a-half-long group-based program," said Boutelle.

The present study included 50 children between ages 8 and 12 who were overweight or obese. Researchers then put these children along with their parents on a low-intensity program that aimed at weight control of the child. The program lasted for about 5 months, after which, researchers monitored the child's progress six months later.

The researchers were interested in finding out whether or not intervention programs help children manage their weight themselves by improving eating behaviors and physical activity levels.

The study results showed that not only does this self-help intervention help children lose weight in five months, but the weight loss was maintained over the next six months.

"Importantly, the initial results of this study showed that that a self-help program, guided by professionals, may be as effective in helping kids to lose weight as a traditional, clinic-based weight loss program," added Kerri Boutelle, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, according to a news release.

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.