Family-based treatment for pediatric overweight: Parental weight loss as a predictor of children's treatment success

This study examined the relative influence of nutrition and exercise education, behavioral therapy, and parental weight loss on children's weight-related treatment outcomes. Participants included 65 children and their parents who were participating in an evidence-based multicomponential pediatric overweight intervention program. After accounting for age and sex, children's attendance at group treatment and change in health knowledge predicted 9.7% and 5.8% of the variance in children's weight change, respectively. However, the single greatest predictor of change in children's body mass index was parent weight loss, which accounted for 18.8% of the variance in the model. Findings suggest that although nutrition-exercise education and group therapy are beneficial, parental weight loss best predicts children's treatment outcomes.