Family Weight School treatment:: 1-year results in obese adolescents

Objective. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of a Family Weight School treatment based on family therapy in group meetings with adolescents with a high degree of obesity. Methods. Seventy-two obese adolescents aged 12-19 years old were referred to a childhood obesity center by pediatricians and school nurses and offered a Family Weight School therapy program in group meetings given by a multidisciplinary team. Intervention was compared with an untreated waiting list control group. Body mass index (BMI) and BMI z-scores were calculated before and after intervention. Results. Ninety percent of the intervention group completed the program (34 boys, 31 girls; baseline age=14.8 +/- 1.8 years [mean +/- standard deviation, SD], BMI=34 +/- 4.0, BMI z-score=3.3 +- 0.4). In the control group 10 boys and 13 girls (baseline age=14.3 +/- 1.6, BMI=34.1 +/- 4.8, BMI z-score=3.2 +/- 0.4) participated in the 1-year follow-up. Adolescents in the intervention group with initial BMI z-score <3.5 (n=49 out of 65, baseline mean age=14.8, mean BMI=33.0, mean BMI z-score=3.1), showed a significant decrease in BMI z-scores in both genders (-0.09 +/- 0.04, p=0.039) compared with those in the control group with initial BMI z-score <3.5 (n=17 out of 23, mean baseline age=14.1, mean baseline BMI=31.6, mean baseline BMI z-score=3.01). No difference was found in adolescents with BMI z-scores >3.5. Conclusions. Family Weight School treatment model might be suitable for adolescents with BMI z-score <3.5 treated with a few sessions in a multidisciplinary program.