A recent study published in journal Pediatrics demonstrates the importance of parental involvement when it comes to helping children successfully lose weight.
Interventions regarding childhood obesity are rarely studied beyond 1 year, so researchers decided to look at the long-term impact of specific weight-loss programs over a 24-month time frame.
The scientists tracked 165 overweight prepubescent children, age 6 to 10, and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: a child-centered physical-activity program, parent-centered dietary-modification program, and a combination of the two.
Two years later, all children showed a reduction in body mass index, however, the greatest effects were achieved with the inclusion of a parent-centered diet program, indicating the importance of targeting parents, and the possibility of targeting them exclusively within the treatment.
The authors noted the importance of this detail, since it could mean that childhood obesity treatments could just involve parents’ supervision of their kids’ diets.
Study authors concluded, "Parents can participate in intervention programs that will benefit their child without their child being required to participate."