Age as a Factor in Long Term Program Retention and Weight Maintenance in Obese Children and Adolescents |[dagger]| 698

Research indicates that prevention of adult obesity may be accomplished through the treatment of prediatric obesity. However, it is unclear whether treatment should begin during the early or later childhood years. We examined the one-year program retention and weight maintenance of 139 obese children(M=63, F=76; Age=12.11±2.6 yrs.; Range=7.1-17.6 yrs.) enrolled in a multidisciplinary pediatric weight management program. The one-year program consisted of a protein-sparing modified fast diet, followed by a balanced hypocaloric diet, nutrition education, behavior modification, and a moderate-intensity (45-55% VO2max), progressive exercise program. Measures of height, weight, percent of ideal body weight (%IBW), and body mass index (BMI) were obtained at baseline, ten weeks and one year. For statistical analysis, subjects were blocked by age as follows: 7-8 yrs., 9-10 yrs., 11-12 yrs., and 13+ yrs. A repeated measures one way analysis of variance indicated the the results in the table (%IBW, mean±S.D;*Baseline to 10 weeks and baseline to 1 year. 10 weeks to 1 year = N.S.).