A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Behavioral Family-Based Intervention With and Without Home Visits to Decrease Obesity in Preschoolers

Abstract

LAUNCH-HV, but not LAUNCH-clinic, significantly reduced BMIz compared with PC by posttreatment, indicating the need for intensive behavioral intervention, including home visitation, to address weight management in obese preschool children.

Psychosocial Factors in Children's Obesity: Examples From An Innovative Line of Inquiry

“…Findings were novel in linking parenting styles that related to food to those unrelated to food; our results continue to influence research, with recent studies replicating our rural study (and a contemporaneous U.K. study; 26) in urban and rural children internationally (e.g., Australia: 27; the Netherlands: 28; Belgium: 29). Our findings and the many replications emphasize the importance of focusing obesity interventions on parenting styles as well as feeding practices, and recently, intervention studies have begun to do so (e.g., 30). …”

Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes: Prevention and Treatment Through a Life Course Health Development Framework

“…An intensive 16-week multidisciplinary program for overweight or obese Dutch children aged 3-5 years and their parent was compared to a "usual-maintained care" control, and results showed reductions in BMI and waist circumference that were for 12 months (Bocca et al 2012a). Among 33 obese preschool-aged (2-5 years) children in the Midwest USA, a pilot randomized trial compared two 6-month multidisciplinary treatment programs (one in which all sessions were held at a clinic and another program that alternated between clinic sessions and individual home-based visits by a pediatric psychology fellow); both interventions were consistent with Expert Committee (Barlow 2007) stage 3 recommendations and were compared to a control condition of pediatrician counseling as recommended by the Expert Committee as stage 1 treatment (Stark et al 2014). Compared to pediatrician counseling, children in the intervention with home visits group had greater reductions in BMI z-score at 6 months (end of intervention) and at 12 months than did children in the clinic only intervention (Stark et al 2014).…”

“…Among 33 obese preschool-aged (2-5 years) children in the Midwest USA, a pilot randomized trial compared two 6-month multidisciplinary treatment programs (one in which all sessions were held at a clinic and another program that alternated between clinic sessions and individual home-based visits by a pediatric psychology fellow); both interventions were consistent with Expert Committee (Barlow 2007) stage 3 recommendations and were compared to a control condition of pediatrician counseling as recommended by the Expert Committee as stage 1 treatment (Stark et al 2014). Compared to pediatrician counseling, children in the intervention with home visits group had greater reductions in BMI z-score at 6 months (end of intervention) and at 12 months than did children in the clinic only intervention (Stark et al 2014). These results suggest that parents of obese preschoolaged children may benefit from in-home guidance regarding implementation and maintenance of parenting behaviors related to weight reduction.…”

Treating Obesity in Preschoolers

“…The same criteria for intervention inclusion as Foster and colleagues 15 were applied for this review: 1) enrolled children ages 0–6 years-old (or tailoring to preschoolers if sample included older children), 2) included measure of weight status, 3) only included children with BMI≥85 th percentile. We identified one additional publication 16 than Foster and colleagues, bringing the total number of studies included to seven.…”