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Behavior, Psychology and Sociology

The effectiveness of group-based, parent-only weight management interventions for children and the factors associated with outcomes: a systematic review

International Journal of Obesity volume 48, pages 3–21 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Obesity in Childhood is a significant public health issue, which requires both a preventative and treatment approach. International guidelines continue to recommend family-focused, multicomponent, childhood weight management programmes and many studies have investigated their effectiveness, however, findings have been mixed and primarily based on weight. Thus, the aim of this review was to assess the effectiveness of group-based parent-only interventions on a broad range of child health-related outcomes and to investigate the factors associated with intervention outcomes.

Methods

An electronic database search was conducted using CINAHL, Medline, PsychINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: 522 articles were identified for full text review and 15 studies were selected. The quality of studies were appraised and data were synthesised according to the review aims.

Results

Parent-only group interventions are effective in changing children’s weight status, as well as other outcomes such as health behaviours and self-esteem, although these were reported inconsistently. Parent-only interventions were generally found to be similar to parent-child interventions, and minimal contact interventions but better than a waiting list control. Factors found to be associated with treatment outcomes, included session attendance, the child’s age and weight at baseline, socioeconomic status of families and modification to the home food environment. The methodological quality of the studies included in the review was low, with only six studies rated to be methodologically adequate.

Conclusions

Parent-only interventions may be an effective treatment for improving the health status of children and their families, particularly when compared with waitlist controls. However, results need to be interpreted with caution due to the low quality of the studies and the high rates of non-completion.

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Fig. 1: Identification of studies via databases and other sources.

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Data availability

Given that this was a systematic review, there is no raw data associated with this study. However, the search string used is outlined in the methods section of the study.

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Acknowledgements

Both authors wish to acknowledge their main affiliation with the Department of Psychology, University College Dublin, Ireland. Also, thanks to Marta Bustillo, UCD Librarian, for helpful comments on the screening of articles. No funding was provided for this research.

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  1. School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Fionna McDarby & Kathy Looney

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FMD and KL designed the study. FMD independently carried out the literature search and screening of articles, with KL acting as a second reviewer and extracting data from 20% of studies. FMD analysed the data with both authors contributing to interpretation of findings. FMD drafted the original manuscript with both authors contributing to the review and editing process. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript. KL acted as supervisor throughout the research.

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Correspondence to Kathy Looney.

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McDarby, F., Looney, K. The effectiveness of group-based, parent-only weight management interventions for children and the factors associated with outcomes: a systematic review. Int J Obes 48, 3–21 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-023-01390-6

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