Incorporating Appetite Awareness Training Within Family-Based Behavioral Treatment of Pediatric Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

• Published in: Journal of Pediatric Psychology
• Main Authors: Njardvik, Urdur, Gunnarsdottir, Thrudur, Olafsdottir, Anna S, Craighead, Linda W, Boles, Richard E, Bjarnason, Ragnar
• Other Authors: 1 Univ Iceland, Dept Psychol, Saemundargata 1, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland Show more 2 Univ Iceland, Fac Med, Reykjavik, Iceland Show more 3 Univ Iceland, Fac Hlth Promot Sport & Leisure Studies, Reykjavik, Iceland Show more 4 Emory Univ, Dept Psychol, Atlanta, GA 30322 USA Show more 5 Univ Colorado, Sch Med, Anschutz Med Campus, Boulder, CO 80309 USA Show more 6 Univ Iceland, Fac Med, Reykjavik, Iceland Show more 7 Landspitali Univ Hosp, Childrens Med Ctr, Reykjavik, Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 2019
• Subjects: Offita; Börn; Pediatric Obesity; Self-Control; Feeding Behavior; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/620808; https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsy055

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink below To assess additive effects of incorporating appetite awareness training (AAT), a strategy to encourage eating in response to hunger and satiety cues, within a family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) for childhood obesity. Total 84 families with a child with obesity in the age range of 8-12 years, Body Mass Index Standard Deviation Score (BMI-SDS) ≥ 2, and a participating parent were randomly allocated to two conditions; standard FBT was compared with FBT incorporating AAT strategies (FBT-AAT). Treatment consisted of group therapy sessions (held separately for children and parents) as well as single-family (parent-child dyad) sessions (24 sessions total) delivered over 18 weeks at a tertiary care outpatient clinic. One booster session was provided 1-year posttreatment and a final follow-up assessment was conducted at 2 years. The primary outcome was change in child standardized body mass index (BMI-SDS). The two conditions did not differ significantly at posttest, but the FBT-AAT group was at a significantly lower weight compared with FBT at both the first-year, F(1, 82) = 4.150, p<.05, and the second-year follow-ups, F(1, 82) = 14.912, p <.001. It was notable that over the second-year of follow-up, the FBT-AAT group continued to show improvement, whereas the FBT group did not. Incorporating specific self-regulatory training in attending to hunger and fullness signals during a standardized family-based treatment may have enhanced the long-term maintenance of treatment effects. Findings are promising and warrant further study. Landspitali University Hospital Research Fund Doctoral Grants of The University of Iceland Research Fund University of Iceland Research Fund Thorvaldsen Society