This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Increased registered dietician visits linked to improved BMI outcomes in children with obesity
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
BMI outcomes in children with obesity participating in a comprehensive weight management program were improved with increasing frequency of registered dietician visits, according to recent study findings published in Childhood Obesity.
“This study provides novel information about the relative role of dietary approach and [registered dietician] involvement in success in a [comprehensive weight management] program for overweight and obese youth,” the researchers wrote. “Despite the changes in diets from the Staged Approach to the Healthy Eating Plan and how the dietary approach was introduced to patient families, the mean change in BMI with this new clinical model was not significantly different, when compared to the earlier clinical model.”
Shelley Kirk
Shelley Kirk, PhD, RD, LD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and colleagues evaluated 92 children with obesity participating in a comprehensive weight management program to determine the effects of two dietary approaches and extent of registered dietician involvement in improving their weight.
Forty-one participants were part of an earlier clinical model that introduced a portion-controlled diet at a registered dietician visit after an initial medical visit, and 51 participated in a later clinical model that introduced a reduced glycemic load diet at the initial medical visit.
Change in BMI and probability of success did not differ significantly between the two groups. Participants of the earlier clinical model had a greater time period between the initial and first follow-up visit compared with the later clinical model group (P < .001). The earlier clinical model group had a greater number of registered dietician visits during that time (P < .0001), greater number of registered dietician visits per month (P = .01), higher median number of exercise sessions attended overall (P = .0002) and per month (P = .002) compared with the later clinical model group.
In an analysis that combined the two groups, researchers found a 28% increase in odds of success for each additional registered dietician visit (P = .05), and success exceeded 78% when there was one or more registered dietician visit per month compared with 43% success with minimal registered dietician exposure.
“In designing a clinical program for pediatric obesity treatment by a multi-disciplinary team, this study suggests the program would be more effective if participating families met with a registered dietician at least once a month,” Kirk told Endocrine Today. “These findings provide evidence of the value added that registered dieticians, as the only discipline trained and certified to provide medical nutrition therapy, can bring to pediatric weight management. This is an important consideration in securing insurance reimbursement for the clinical services provided by a registered dietician.” – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Shelley Kirk, PhD, RD, LD, can be reached at the Center for Better Health and Nutrition, The Heart Institute, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, MLC 5016, 3333 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229; email: shelley.kirk@cchmc.org.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts