Weighing physical activity: The impact of a family-based group lifestyle intervention for pediatric obesity on participants' physical activity

Objectives: To examine differences in self-reported physical activity (PA) between participants enrolled in the treatment versus active control condition of a pediatric obesity intervention, and to test associations between parent and child PA. Methods: Participants (N=93) included children aged 7-17 years and their parent. Analyses tested whether participants in the treatment condition reported greater PA at postintervention and 12-month follow-up compared with the control condition. Further, researchers examined change in PA across time and whether change in parent PA was associated with change in child PA. Results: Children in the treatment condition reported greater PA at 12-month follow-up. Parents in the treatment group reported a significant increase in PA between baseline and postintervention. Change in parent PA was associated with changes in child PA across multiple periods. Conclusions: Family-based obesity interventions may promote long-term change in self-reported PA among youths, and change in parent PA may be a contributing factor.