Abstract

Introduction: Nearly 19.3% of children in the United States have obesity. There are several behavioral weight loss (BWL) programs available for children and adolescents that have proven effective in managing weight. Many of these treatments are delivered to groups of children rather than to individual youth. However, previous reviews of the literature have not explored the unique effects of group treatment modalities. Research has shown that social ties, particularly with peers, have an impact on adolescents' physical activity engagement and dietary habits. Therefore, it is important to explore how the interaction component of group delivered BWL treatments contributes to their success. This study sought to aggregate efficacy findings across published studies examining both group treatments and standard BWL care. Method: This meta-analytic review of the literature adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as well as the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Literature searches for relevant studies were conducted using electronic databases such as PsychINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science. Randomized clinical trials of interventions for overweight or obese youth aged 3-18 conducted between 1990-2020 which tested behavioral weight-loss interventions published in English were included. Three reviewers read titles and abstracts and code studies using the eligibility criteria. Cohen's d determined if an effect size was small (0.1), medium (0.3), or large (0.5). Results: Eight studies were included in the preliminary analysis. An omnibus weighted mean effect size for all group BWL treatment showed a small, but significant effect size (mean d = 0.121, 95% CI = 0.008 - 0.234), indicating that group treatments are more efficacious in pediatric weight loss and weight management at the end of treatment compared to individual or standard BWL treatment. Conclusion: Previous reviews and meta-analyses on BWL in children and adolescents have not addressed the contribution group therapy has on treatment outcomes. Results from this study may aid the development of future youth BWL treatments as group treatment is shown to be as effective or more effective than individual treatment. Group-delivered BWL programs could prove to be more cost-effective and improve access to care relative to individual interventions

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Psychology

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