Family-Based Weight Program Effective

A U.S. family-based weight program is more effective at managing weight loss, body fat, body mass index and insulin sensitivity than traditional counseling.

Mary Savoye-Desanti and colleagues at Yale University measured the effectiveness of the weight management program Bright Bodies against care provided at a pediatric obesity clinic on 209 overweight children between the ages of 8 and 16. Bright Bodies was created 10 years ago by Savoye-Desanti and combines nutrition education, behavior modification and exercise tailored to the needs of inner-city children.

The 105 children randomly assigned to the Bright Bodies program participated in 50 minutes of exercise two nights a week. The study found that the Bright Bodies group had BMI reduced by 1.7 units and an improvement in overall cholesterol. The control group gained an average of 17 pounds and increased their BMI by 1.6 units, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

We have shown that a family-based program that uses nutrition education, behavior modification and supervised exercise can lower BMI, improve body composition and increase insulin sensitivity, Savoye-Desanti said in a statement. This is a family problem. The child can’t do it alone.