Page 66 - Go4it

Chapter 5
Abstract
Background
We developed a Dutch outpatient multidisciplinary group treatment (Go4it) for obese adolescents, including cognitive behavioural therapy and education on healthy dietary and physical activity behaviour. This study examined the effect of Go4it on Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL).
Methods
At our outpatient paediatric obesity clinic, obese adolescents (n=122, 11-18 years) were randomly assigned to 1) Go4it, 7 sessions with an interval of 2 weeks or 2) current regular care consisting of referral to a dietician in the home care setting (controls). Linear mixed model analysis was performed to evaluate the intervention effects on HRQoL at 6 and 18 months follow-ups. HRQoL indicators included the Child Health Questionnaire, the Paediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM Version 4.0 (PedsQLTM4.0), and the Body Esteem Scale (BES).
Results
In total, 95 adolescents (Go4it 57, controls 38) were included in the current analysis with a mean age of 14.5 ± 1.7 and mean BMIsds of 2.9 ± 0.5. At baseline, all participants experienced lower levels of physical and psychosocial well-being compared to a normal weight reference group. At the 18 months follow-up, we found small but beneficial intervention effects on all subscales of the PedsQLTM4.0 and BES questionnaires. Two subscales improved significantly; i.e., physical health (between group difference 5.4; 95% CI: 0.3; 10.6) and school functioning (between group difference 7.4; 95% CI: 1.6; 13.2).
Conclusion
Obese adolescents experienced lower HRQoL than their healthy peers. The Go4it intervention had small beneficial effects on HRQoL compared to the current regular care practices for obese adolescents.
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