1 - Nutrition Lab, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central;
2 - Research Unit of Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central;
3 - Outpatient Clinic for Prepubertal Obese Children, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central. Lisbon, Portugal
- Obesity & Control Therapies 2016;3:1-5
Introduction. The early effectiveness of a weight treatment program, combining diet with exercise, was assesseEditord in compliant obese prepubertal children in a clinic-setting.
Methods. Body composition was assessed monthly via air displacement plethysmography in a convenience cohort of consecutively referred prepubertal obese children (body mass index >P95), aged 3 to 9 years, to a hospital outpatient overweight treatment program. This program consisted of a dietary intervention based on macronutrients in proportions consistent with the recommendations for age combined with exercise counseling of more than one hour per day at least three times per week. A reduction of >5% in fat mass index (as surrogate of adiposity), was the primary outcome; and the time to achieve it was the secondary outcome. Per-protocol analysis was performed.
Results. Sixty children fully compliant with the program were included. The median (min-max) time of follow-up was 105 (35-337) days. The early success rate was 70.0% (95% CI 57.5-80.1). Forty-two children achieved the outcome at a median 71 (35-316) days. No difference for sex was found. The lower the FMI at referral, the higher the probability of success.
Conclusion. The short-term effectiveness of this weight management program for compliant prepubertal children seems satisfactory. Early positive reinforcement based on a reliable indicator may contribute to the success of weight management programs.
Palavras-chave: dietary intervention, exercising, fat mass index, prepubertal children, weight management