Effect of a family-based cognitive behavioural intervention on body mass index, self-esteem and symptoms of depression in children with obesity (aged 7-13): A randomised waiting list controlled trial

Objective: We examined the effect of a 12-week family-based cognitive behavioural weight management programme developed for use in primary care settings. Methods: The sample consisted of 49 children with obesity (aged 7-13 years; mean ± SD: 10.68 ± 1.24). Families were randomly assigned to immediate start-up of treatment or to a 12-week waiting list condition. Outcome measures were body mass index standard deviation score (BMI SDS), self-esteem, symptoms of depression and blood parameters indicative of cardio-metabolic risk. Assessments were conducted at baseline, post-treatment, post-waiting list and 12 months after treatment termination. Results: The mean reduction for the treatment group was -0.16 BMI SDS units compared with an increase of 0.04 units for the waiting list group (p =.001). For the entire sample, there was a significant post-treatment improvement on BMI SDS (p =.001), all self-esteem measures (p =.001-.041) and symptoms of depression (p =.004). The mean BMI SDS reduction was -0.18 units post-treatment, and it was maintained at 12-month follow-up. Significant reductions were found in blood lipid levels of total cholesterol (p =.03), LDL-cholesterol (p =.005) and HDL-cholesterol (p =.01) at 12-month follow-up. The favourable effect on most of the psychological measures waned from post-treatment to follow-up, but not approaching baseline levels. Boys demonstrated significantly greater reductions in BMI SDS than girls (p =.001), while baseline psychiatric co-morbidity did not influence BMI SDS outcome. Conclusions: The treatment shows significant and favourable effects on BMI SDS, self-esteem and symptoms of depression compared with a waiting list condition. © 2011 Asian Oceanian Association for the Study of Obesity. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.