Behavioral Treatment Helps Very Obese Children, But Not Severely Obese Adolescents

Wrong. Neither one works.

Researchers have found that severely obese children respond well to behavioral treatment, but not severely obese adolescents. The study, conducted by Dr. Pernilla Danielsson, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, was presented at the 19th European Congress on Obesity in Lyon, France.

The researchers evaluated 643 children who began behavioral obesity treatment at Sweden's National Childhood Obesity Center between 1998 and 2006.

Participants were divided into three age groups (6-9, 10-13, and 14-16 years) and further into two groups, depending on how obese they were.

The researchers used a body-mass index (BMI) standardized age- and gender-dependent deviation score (SDS) in order to compare weight data between children of different ages and gender, and to examine differences over time.

Moderately obese was defined as BMI SDS 1.6-3.5 and severely obese was defined as BMI SDS ≥ 3.5.

In the group of moderately obese children, the team found that those aged 6 to 9 years showed a decline in BMI SDS. Even though treatment effect was observed in the older age groups with moderate obesity. It was less pronounced.

The researchers found that severely obese young children responded even better to treatment, while adolescents showed no changed in BMI SDS at all after 3 years. Severely obese boys in the 10-13 year old age group showed a significantly greater mean reduction in BMI SDS than girls.

Compared to severely obese children with obese mothers, those with normal-weight mothers had a larger mean decrease in BMI SDS. The researchers found no association between father's weight status and change of BMI SDS.

It has nothing to do with the behavioral treatment.

It has everything to do with the home.

Apparently, in these cases, with the mother.