Household Intervention Changes Behaviour But Not Body Weight
Monday, January 10, 2011
When it comes to weight management (especially in kids), the consensus appears to be that lifestyle changes are easier to implement and more effective when they target whole households.
But do household interventions really change behaviour?
This question was now addressed by Simone French and colleagues from the University of Minnesota in a paper just published online in OBESITY.
In this one-year study, the researchers randomised 99 households an intervention consisting of six face-to-face group sessions, placement of a TV-locking device on all home TVs, and home-based intervention activities, or to a control group.
While the interventions households did not report any changes in the frequency of meals eaten at fast food restaurants, or intake of fruits and vegetables or sugar-sweetened beverages, there were significant (albeit modest) reductions in frequency of consumption of sweets and snack foods and in dollars spent eating out.
TV viewing decreased by about 30 mins per day in intervention households with significant reductions reported during meals.
Adults in intervention households reported walking around 10 extra minutes per day and about 15 extra minutes of moderate/vigorous physical activity per day. No changes in physical activities were seen in adolescents.
Weekly self-weight increased from 50 to 70%.
As would perhaps be expected from these rather modest effects on lifestyle, no changes in body weight were noted.
Thus, as the authors point out, targeting households can improve some health-related behaviours, however, the duration of the intervention and follow-up may be too short to say whether these changes (if maintained) will in the end lead to prevention of weight loss.
Thus, while the study supports the idea of targeting households for behaviour change, it also reminds us that healthier behaviours alone do not necessarily translate into weight loss.
As often in these type of studies, the authors fail to mention the actual cost of the intervention or the likelihood of such interventions being feasible and effective outside the context of a research trial.
Certainly, most readers will appreciate that it probably takes more to lose and maintain a lower body weight than to simply eat healthier and watch less TV.
But then again, who ever said that weight alone was a good measure of health?
AMS
Edmonton, Alberta
French SA, Gerlach AF, Mitchell NR, Hannan PJ, & Welsh EM (2011). Household Obesity Prevention: Take Action-a Group-Randomized Trial. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) PMID: 21212771
Monday, January 10, 2011
Was everything self-reported? What do you think about slightly more regimented interventions – e.g. devices that restrict the amount of time that a TV can be on each day. Epstein has used those sorts of interventions to great effect in kids, at least in terms of reducing screen time.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Interesting. My only other question in addition to Travis’ above would be if aside from weight reduction, were any other health benefits noted or reported, or any other gains e.g. productivity, increased self esteem due to being that bit more active, eating more healthily and/or less screen time?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Re: “who ever said that weight alone was a good measure of health?”
Every dimwitted physician who insisted on lecturing me about weight despite excellent blood pressure and lovely blood work.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Household intervention is one thing but after the child of an intervened houshold leaves home he or she will not likely follow the healthy weight healthy diet that they have been raised with if they are not taught the wye’s and so forth. Parents planning and exacution of weight management keeps weight management in the household–if children are not instructed to follow these directions they are destanted to become over weight alduts even though they were healthy weight kids. My parents were very insistant that all of us children (6 of us) knew how to make a good meal–however they also told us to eat what we put on our plate–all six of us are obese because they did not teach prtion size or disinhibitation. The weight was so bad that my mother passed away from non-alcohol fatty liver desease and I am the only one who has started to try to manage my weight and the sad thing is I had all of the knowledge before I started weight wise but it wasn’t in the form that I could put to use. So while intervention that is a good thing only the person who really wants intervention can benefit the others are only along for the ride or going through the motions. thanks