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Physical discomfort spurs adolescents to lose weight
QUEBEC CITY — Physical discomfort with weight was a strong motivating factor for obese adolescents to lose weight, according to data on 60 children who participated in a behavioral lifestyle program in Ontario, Canada.
The data were presented here at the annual meeting of the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group.
Jill Hamilton
“We know outcomes are modest with respect to BMI reduction and wanted to see if we could identify predictors of which children would respond best to therapy, with the ultimate goal of being able to identify and target approaches to individual patients,” study researcher Jill Hamilton, MD, FRCPC, pediatric endocrinologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and associate professor at the University of Toronto, told Endocrine Today.
Hamilton and colleagues looked at baseline characteristics of children aged 12 to 17 years, dividing them into those who increased their BMI and those who decreased their BMI after 6 months in the SickKids Team Obesity Management Program (STOMP). The program was designed for severely obese adolescents and came into effect in 2010; it involves dietary and fitness interventions, as well as psychological support.
Adolescents who entered the program had severe obesity, with BMIs at the 99th percentile for their age and gender or at the 95th percentile or higher, and had a serious comorbidity. The mean BMI of adolescents entering the program was 44.5 kg/m2.
Investigators compared anthropometric, metabolic and psychological traits at baseline between the two groups. Initial analysis showed older age was associated with a greater reduction in BMI at 6 months, but further statistical analysis revealed scores on the Impact-of-Weight-on-Quality-of-Life-Kids Physical Comfort questionnaire and a lower baseline BMI were most strongly predictive of a decrease in BMI at the 6-month mark (P=.001 and P=.004, respectively).
Weight-specific quality-of-life measurements asked questions such as how comfortable adolescents were with activities of daily living, such as climbing stairs or tying their shoes, according to Hamilton.
“We found that those who scored the lowest (on the weight-specific quality-of-life measurements) —that is, they were really impacted by their weight in their day-to-day activities — had a better response in terms of BMI reduction,” Hamilton said. “This may be an important motivator for change in behavior and should be incorporated into routine assessment of children with obesity.”
For more information:
Hamilton J. Oral abstract 1. Presented at: Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group 2013 Scientific Meeting; Jan. 24-26, 2013; Quebec City.
Disclosure: Hamilton reports no relevant financial disclosures.