Counseling clinic for pediatric weight reduction: program formulation and follow-up.

The feasibility and efficacy of an outpatient-based multicomponent weight reduction program was tested with 68 consecutively enrolled obese children and adolescents. The patients were invited to participate in an individualized six-session program that included parent involvement, diet education, exercise management and behavior modification by a culturally sensitive method. Fifty-six patients were followed up 1 year after treatment. Comparison at pretreatment, end-of-treatment and 1-year-after-treatment with respect to changes in degree of obesity, measured by weight-for-length index (WLI), showed statistically significant differences. Ninety-seven percent of participants were below their pretreatment WLI at the end-of-treatment examination, and 80% at 1-year-after-treatment follow-up. At 1-year-after-treatment, 59% showed a reduction in WLI of 0.1 or more, as compared with 38% of participants at end-of-treatment. Two parameters previously considered predictors of successful weight control, notably age of participants and percentage of weight lost during treatment, were significantly associated with a reduction in the degree of obesity after one year. Although the long-term efficacy cannot be determined, our results indicated that this comprehensive weight reduction program may have an encouraging effect on the weight status of obese Chinese children and adolescents.