Childhood-Obesity Explained

Childhood Obesity

Glucomannan
Glucomannan, a type of fiber, dilutes calories, slows down the eating process, and may make people feel more full despite eating fewer calories.
Dose:
2 to 3 grams daily
Glucomannan
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Increased fiber intake is thought to have potential benefit in a weight-loss program since dietary fiber dilutes calories, slows down the eating process, and may make people feel more full despite eating fewer calories.¹⁶ However, research on using fiber in the treatment of childhood obesity has focused on using fiber supplements rather than comparing low- and high-fiber diets. Supplementation for four months with 2 to 3 grams per day of a bulking agent called glucomannan, was effective in a group of obese adolescents in one controlled trial,¹⁷ but another controlled trial found no significant effect of 2 grams per day for two months.¹⁸

Holistic Options

Behavior-change techniques are considered useful for helping people break old habits and form more healthful habits. These techniques may be learned from counseling professionals, support groups, educational programs, or books. Many controlled studies have investigated various methods for using behavior-change techniques to prevent or treat childhood obesity, with several reporting success at reducing overweight compared with either no treatment or with conventional weight-loss approaches.¹⁹^,20^,21

Parental involvement in the treatment of childhood obesity is considered important for success, especially when parents are given adequate training in a wide range of behavior-change techniques that can be applied to the entire family.²² Limited research suggests that training parents alone is superior to training either children alone or training both parents and children.²³^,24^,25 Some authorities suggest that training parents alone produces the best results because this avoids affecting the child’s self-esteem and willingness to change, which might result from labeling him or her as “the patient.”²⁵^,27

Problem-solving techniques are used in some types of counseling to help people maintain changes in their behavior. In one controlled study, teaching problem-solving techniques to parents in addition to behavior-change techniques improved weight loss results in obese children compared with a group learning only behavior-change techniques.²⁸ However, another controlled study found no additional benefit when problem-solving training was given to either the child or to both child and parent.²⁹

For support and information, parents can also try the following resources:

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity: Overweight in Children and Adolescents (www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm)
How Parents Can Fight the Obesity Epidemic (www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/fightobesity.htm)
Shapedown for Parents, Kids & Teens (www.shapedown.com/page2.htm)

Childhood Obesity

Health Condition