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Programs Show Short-Term Benefits in Helping Children Maintain Weight Loss |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Children who lost weight were able to keep it off more effectively by participating in maintenance treatment programs that emphasized behavioral skills or social facilitation, although the effectiveness lessened over time, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA. The prevalence of overweight among children in the United States has tripled in recent decades and related health care costs have nearly quadrupled, according to background information in the article. "Lifestyle interventions remain the most well-established interventions for overweight 7- to 12-year-olds. Although some evidence supports long-term efficacy, maintaining weight loss remains a challenge, with most interventions marked by considerable relapse," the authors write. The BSM approach is based on the premise that specific strategies are needed for weight loss maintenance, emphasizing self-regulation behaviors and relapse-prevention strategies. The SFM approach is based on the premise that relapse results from the absence of a social environment supportive of continued weight control. Children enrolled in five months of weight loss treatment and 150 were randomized to one of three maintenance conditions: control group or four months of BSM or SFM treatment. The researchers found that children receiving either BSM or SFM maintained relative weight significantly better than children assigned to the control group from randomization to postweight maintenance. Active maintenance treatment effectiveness relative to the control group declined during follow-up, but the effects of SFM alone and when analyzed together with BSM were significantly better than the control group when examining certain BMI score outcomes from baseline to 2-year follow-up.
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