The effectiveness of a 10-week family-focused e-Health healthy lifestyle program for school-aged children with overweight or obesity: a randomised control trial.

BMC Public Health

Department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Level 1, 264 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill, VIC, 3168, Australia.

Published: January 2025

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study assesses a 10-week web-based healthy lifestyle program for children aged 7-13 with overweight/obesity, comparing outcomes to a control group.
  • Significant improvements were found in the intervention group's BMI z-scores, quality of life, dietary habits, and physical activity levels.
  • Results suggest that e-Health interventions can effectively enhance health outcomes in children with obesity, but further research is needed to understand long-term impacts and optimize program delivery.

Article Abstract

Background: Electronic health (e-Health) interventions may increase effectiveness and address limitations of conventional in-person childhood obesity treatment programs. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a 10-week e-Health (web-based) healthy lifestyle program for school-aged children with overweight/obesity.

Methods: In this randomised control trial (RCT), families with children aged 7-13 years with overweight/obesity (body mass index, BMI ≥ 85th percentile), living in Victoria, Australia, were recruited. Families were randomised to intervention or waitlist control and received the 10-week web-based program. The primary outcome was the change in children's BMI z-score over 10 weeks. Other outcomes included change in children's waist circumference, dietary intake, physical activity, and quality of life over 10 weeks.

Results: Of 148 children (125 families) recruited, 102 children (85 families) completed the RCT. A significant decrease in children's BMI z-scores was observed in the intervention compared to the control group over 10 weeks (mean difference 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02-0.20). The web-based program was also effective in improving children's quality of life and lifestyle behaviour changes over 10 weeks. In the intervention group, there was a significant increase in children's quality of life scores (intervention versus control: median change (IQR) = 11 (3, 17) versus 1 (-3, 7); p = 0.034), overall diet quality scores (6 (2, 10) versus 2 (-3, 5); p < 0.001), and daily physical activity levels (5.2 (-2.6, 12.8) versus - 0.2 (-8.2, 4.5); p = 0.022) compared to the control group.

Conclusions: A web-based healthy lifestyle program effectively improved short-term health-related outcomes in children with overweight/obesity. Further research is needed to identify determinants of program effectiveness, evaluate sustained effects, and equitably tailor childhood obesity e-Health interventions to diverse populations.

Trial Registration: This study was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12621001762842) on November 11, 2021, https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=383053 .

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21120-5DOI Listing
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11705843PMC

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