According to a recent study, self-guided family therapy for tackling obesity may be just as effective as traditional methods, but at a significantly lower cost.
Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is an established method for helping children with obesity. This approach involves a healthcare professional collaborating with the family to support children in losing weight through promoting regular physical activity, encouraging healthy eating habits, and teaching appropriate behavioral skills for their age. While traditional FBT is typically conducted by clinicians, researchers from the University of California San Diego’s Center for Healthy Eating and Activity Research (CHEAR) have discovered that self-guided FBT can be equally effective in assisting children with weight loss. This self-directed approach offers more flexibility, is notably cheaper, and demands less time spent with a provider. The findings were shared in the journal Pediatrics.
“Traditional FBT is effective for treating childhood obesity, but it demands a substantial time commitment, has limited scheduling options, and can be costly, making it challenging for families facing financial hardships to access care,” explained Kerri Boutelle, Ph.D., the senior author of the study and the director of CHEAR, who also teaches at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science. “By offering the essential skills found in traditional FBT through a more flexible and condensed model, we can broaden access to treatment for families who may struggle to take part in conventional group programs.”
Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicates that roughly one in five children in the U.S. is struggling with obesity. This condition is linked to a variety of negative health effects in youngsters, including a heightened chance of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. Furthermore, childhood obesity can lead to mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and social isolation. Unlike adult obesity, which usually requires individual management, aiding children in weight loss necessitates a family-oriented approach.
The researchers devised a self-guided version of FBT that includes 20-minute sessions held every two weeks, along with written educational resources for families to utilize between meetings. In contrast, traditional FBT involves more extensive time commitments, including separate weekly 60-minute sessions for parents and children, alongside the 20-minute biweekly appointments. To assess whether the self-guided approach could match traditional FBT’s effectiveness, the team randomly assigned 150 parent-child pairs to receive either method and monitored their weight loss during the treatment and at follow-ups at six, twelve, and eighteen months.
The study revealed that self-guided FBT led to comparable weight loss in children as traditional FBT, but required significantly less time with a provider: 5.3 hours for the self-guided model versus 23 hours for the traditional approach. Additionally, the cost was substantially lower for self-guided FBT, totaling $1,498 per family compared to $2,775 for traditional FBT.
The results of this study highlight the effectiveness of self-guided FBT, providing a more accessible means to address the increasing issue of childhood obesity, while challenging the notion that substantial clinical resources are a necessity for helping children lose weight.
“While earlier research indicated that more contact hours lead to better outcomes, our study suggests the situation may be more complex,” said Boutelle. “We are discovering that engaging with parents is crucial, and this can occur without a trained clinician. Although some families may still prefer the traditional method, introducing flexible and accessible options like self-guided FBT could have a significant impact on combating childhood obesity epidemic.”
