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New Study Results Show That Overweight Children Can Prevent Excess Weight Gain With Two Simple Steps

Posted on: Monday, 1 May 2006, 09:02 CDT

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The results of a new study provide the first clinical evidence that overweight children can effectively prevent additional weight gain by making small changes to their daily lifestyle. The America On the Move(R) Family Study, presented Sunday at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco, proves that this approach can help counter America's obesity crisis-one-third of all children in the United States are either overweight or dangerously close to becoming so and, as a result, are at increased risk of becoming obese adults and developing diabetes and other health problems.(1)

The study showed that over six months, 67 percent of families in the intervention group had children who maintained or reduced their percent body mass index (BMI) for age. Two hundred and sixteen families with at least one overweight child, as defined by BMI, the most widely accepted method of classifying overweight and obesity, participated in the study.(2)

"We are in a state of heightened attention about the issues of weight control and nutrition, as our nation's rate of obesity and diabetes expands to encompass younger generations," said Dr. James O. Hill, AOMF co-founder and professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. "Healthy eating and active living is taught through parents, so it's critical that our study focused on supporting small changes in a family nutrition and physical activity context."

The randomized, single-blind cohort study-conducted by the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, the primary research arm for America On the Move Foundation(TM) (AOMF), a national nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and communities across the country improve health and the quality of life-was designed to evaluate whether overweight children could reduce their risk of gaining additional weight through a combination of increasing physical activity by 2,000 steps daily and eliminating 100 calories, in part by replacing sugar in their diet with Splenda(R) No Calorie Sweetener, the most commonly used low calorie sweetener in the U.S. The small changes tracked over six months are the foundation of America On the Move(R), AOMF's flagship program.

"Based on the study's success, our hope is that more families will see America On the Move(R) as a fun and simple way to become more active, eat more healthfully and, as a result, achieve and maintain a healthy weight," said Dr. Hill. "Our results give parents ammunition to deliver a realistic and tangible way for the whole family to live healthier."

About the Study

The study was funded through a grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and support from McNeil Nutritionals, LLC.(3) In the study, investigators randomized 216 families with at least one overweight child to either a lifestyle intervention group or a control group. Families in the intervention group were asked to eliminate 100 calories a day from their diet, in part by replacing sugar with Splenda(R) No Calorie Sweetener or consuming beverages made with sucralose, and increasing physical activity by 2,000 steps daily. Families in the control group were asked to monitor their diet and exercise levels. Food journals and pedometers were utilized to measure progress. After six months, significantly more overweight children in the intervention group maintained or reduced their percent BMI-for-age, compared to the self-monitoring group (67 percent versus 53 percent).

About America On the Move Foundation

America On the Move Foundation (AOMF) is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities across our nation make positive changes to improve the health and quality of life of all their citizens. The Foundation's flagship program, America On the Move (AOM), initiates and maintains meaningful and measurable individual, social, and environmental behavior changes that support healthy eating and active living habits. AOM's science-based programs provide the support and tools that help individuals of all ages manage weight effectively through energy balance-a balance of energy in calories consumed with the amount of energy burned through daily activity. AOM programs are implemented through communities, employer groups, schools and other organizations. PepsiCo's Smart Spot is the National Presenting Sponsor of the AOM program and America On the Move Day of Action. For more information, please visit http://www.americaonthemove.org/.

(1) Ogden, C.L. and Carroll, M.D. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2006, 295 (Apr): 1549-1555. (2) Splenda is a registered trademark of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. (3) The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease

Overweight and Obesity. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_advice.htm.

Accessed March 17, 2006.

America On the Move Foundation

CONTACT: Elly Spinweber, +1-703-741-7500, espinweber@golinharris.com; orLauren Stone +1-212-891-0491, lstone@devries-pr.com

Web site: http://www.americaonthemove.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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