The effects of a weight loss program focusing on maternal education on childhood obesity.

Purpose: Childhood obesity is a matter of great concern because of its negative health and social consequences. We examined the effect of a weight control program focusing on maternal education on childhood obesity, given that the incidence of obesity is greatly affected by parents.

Methods: A two-group pre-test/post-test design was used. Participants consisted of 65 obese children and their mothers. The children were fourth- to sixth-grade elementary students who did not currently receive any therapy for weight loss. The children and their mothers were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 32) or a control group (n = 33). The 8-week intervention for mothers included one-time group education, three-time phone counseling, and four-time fliers regarding obesity management. Four outcomes (self-control, obesity index, abdominal circumference, and body fat percentage) were measured before and after the intervention. Chi-squared test or t test was used to test homogeneity between the two groups. Analysis of covariance was used to test the intervention effects.

Results: After the intervention was completed, the level of self-control was significantly heightened and obesity levels in the other three outcomes were greatly lowered in the experimental group when compared with the control group.

Conclusion: Due to strong maternal effects on children's weight control, mothers' active participation must be encouraged in order to resolve childhood obesity.