BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Most clinic-based weight control treatments for youth have been designed for preadolescent children by using family-based care. However, as adolescents become more autonomous and less motivated by parental influence, this strategy may be less appropriate. This study evaluated a primary care-based, multicomponent lifestyle intervention specifically tailored for overweight adolescent females. METHODS: Adolescent girls (n = 208) 12 to 17 years of age (mean +/- SD: 14.1 +/- 1.4 years), with a mean +/- SD BMI percentile of 97.09 +/- 2.27, were assigned randomly to the intervention or usual care control group. The gender and developmentally tailored intervention included a focus on adoptable healthy lifestyle behaviors and was reinforced by ongoing feedback from the teen's primary care physician. Of those randomized, 195 (94%) completed the 6-month posttreatment assessment, and 173 (83%) completed the 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome was reduction in BMI z score. RESULTS: The decrease in BMI z score over time was significantly greater for intervention participants compared with usual care participants (-0.15 in BMI z score among intervention participants compared with -0.08 among usual care participants; p = 0.012). The 2 groups did not differ in secondary metabolic or psychosocial outcomes. Compared with usual care, intervention participants reported less reduction in frequency of family meals and less fast-food intake. CONCLUSIONS: A 5-month, medium-intensity, primary care-based, multicomponent behavioral intervention was associated with significant and sustained decreases in BMI z scores among obese adolescent girls compared with those receiving usual care.
Reproduced with permission from Pediatrics. Copyright by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• PubMed Central
• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher