Adherence to Lifestyle Recommendations of Overweight Children Enrolling in a Structured Weight Management Program

摘要

Background: Lifestyle guidelines for preventing and treating childhood obesity have been suggested by various groups. This study's purpose was to determine if overweight/obese youth enrolling in weight management programs are meeting lifestyle recommendations and identify any differences between age and gender.Methods: Measurements and a written survey were used to obtain anthropometric, demographic, nutrition, activity, and behavior habits for 89 overweight/obese youth, ages 4-18 years, at entry into a weight management program. Reported habits were compared to lifestyle guidelines.Results: Participants were primarily female (61.8%), white (61.8%), and between 7-18 years (85.4%). Participants' mean BMI percentile was 97.5 (SD ?8) and mean BMI z-score, 2.27 (SD ? 0.61). Adequate daily vegetable, fruit, and dairy intakes were reported by 7.9%, 51.7%, and 31.5% of participants respectively. For beverages, 82.0% reported meeting fruit juice limit guidelines while 42.7% reported meeting sugar-sweetened beverage intake limits. For physical activity, 34.8% met daily recommendations, while 51.7% met daily screen time limits. Daily breakfast consumption was reported by 67.4% and 73.0% ate family meals together more than five times per week. Adequate sleep time was reported by 53.9%. Significant differences for age and gender were found in two areas, boys were more active than girls (p=.003) and older children slept less than younger children (p=.O3).Conclusions: Children meet juice, breakfast, and family meals intake guidelines, but fall short of recommendations for vegetable, dairy, and sweetened beverage intake, physical activity, screen time, and sleep. Interventions should target lifestyle areas where children fall short.