The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of lifestyle intervention on the management of childhood overweight and to explore the factors that contribute to the outcome, as well as the costs for the health care system. The hypotheses of the study are that lifestyle intervention is efficient in reducing BMI-SDS and thus effective in preventing overweight to progress to obesity, and it is also cost effective. The research is necessary for the development of overweight treatment, and try to find out the optimal duration and intensity for the treatment and content useful for clinical work.
Methods and analyses: The aim of this study is to recruit 80 children and to randomize them either to an intervention group or a control group with standard care. Intervention group receive intensive, family-based diet and physical activity counseling, deliver by a multidisciplinary team of a pediatrician, a nurse and a clinical nutritionist. Control group do not receive any lifestyle intervention during the study. The inclusion criteria are weight-for-height ≥+40% or ≥+30% and increasing and age of 6-12 years. All participants fill out the study questionnaires and plasma samples are taken at baseline and at 12 months. Outcome variables will be compared between intervention and control groups.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
80
The 1-year lifestyle intervention includes intensive, family-based diet and physical activity counselling. Children with their parents meet the pediatrician two times, the specialist nurse five times and the clinical nutritionist three times during the 1-year intervention. One of the meetings with the clinical nutritionist is only for parents and the child is with the nurse at the same time. The participants in the intervention group are advised and motivated to increase their regular daily physical activity and to reduce sedentary habits. They have one group session for the training in the gymnasium with physical education instructor. The physical education instructor gives a voluntary lecture for parents about increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time.
Helsinki University Hospital, Non-operative Services, Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation, Clinical Nutrition Hyvinkää Hospital
Hyvinkää, Uusimaa, Finland
To investigate the efficacy of the intervention for the ISO-BMI
How much ISO-BMI change during the intervention (kg/m2)
Time frame: 12 months
The costs of the intervention for the health care system
Investigators calculate the costs (euros) of the intervention (the price of research visits, laboratory tests, the salary of emplyees and the cost of research rooms).
Time frame: 12 months
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