Childhood Obesity Interventions Focusing on Environment Pay Off

Lies. They absolutely do not.

Childhood obesity prevention programs targeted to children aged 6 to 12 years that emphasize improving nutrition and physical activity levels are generally effective and worth the investment, according to a review of evidence on obesity intervention strategies around the world.

An international team of researchers conducted a review of 55 studies on childhood obesity prevention programs. The results were published online December 7 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The publication is an update to a Cochrane Review from 2005, which included 22 studies.

The reviewers assessed the studies' results according to change in body mass index (BMI), with the secondary goal of addressing the questions of what works for whom, why, and for what cost.

They identified studies in conventional medical research databases in March 2010, and included those studies that used a controlled study design, with or without randomization, and that involved interventions lasting 12 weeks or more.

The results showed that with only a few exceptions, the programs were generally effective in reducing adiposity...

Although more studies are needed to better identify which specific obesity prevention strategies are most effective and long-lasting, the currently available results underscore that individual improvements follow suit when broader changes to the environment are made, said Waters.

"Our findings show that obesity prevention is worth investing in," she said. "Given the range of programs included in this review, it is hard to say exactly which components are the best, but we think the strategies to focus on are those that seek to change environments, rather than just the behavior of individuals."

They have no data demonstrating lasting effects.

And that is what is needed to show that an intervention "pays off."

Period.