Essay on Childhood Obesity and New Intervention Strategies

This essay analyzes a study that evaluated the effectiveness of parenting skill training as an intervention for childhood obesity. The study, conducted in Australia, involved parents of overweight children aged 6-9 years and compared three groups: one receiving parenting skill training with lifestyle education (P+DA), one with only parenting skill training (P), and a wait-listed control group (WLC). The interventions aimed to improve children's weight management through changes in parenting styles and lifestyle factors. The study measured outcomes using BMI z-scores and waist circumference. Results indicated positive outcomes, particularly for boys, with the P+DA group showing significant improvements. The essay discusses the study design, interventions, outcomes, and the potential for broader implications in the field of public health and childhood obesity management. It also addresses the study's internal validity, potential biases, and the causal association between the interventions and observed outcomes.

Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
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1Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
Overview of the paper
The issue addressed in the paper was to evaluate the effectiveness of the parenting skill
training given to the parents who has kids with the problem of obesity. The strategies formulated
for the treatment of the overweight children. The paper has been developed by Rebecca K.
Golley, Anthea , Louise, Katharine and Lynne. They all are Nutrients and diet specialist with
PHD and MBBS as the degree in the same field. It’s a study about how to manage the family
with overweight history by giving proper parenting program classes and intensive lifestyle
training so that the parents can help control the weight of their children (Lavie, Schutter, &
Milani, 2015). The results shall be compared with the 3 different groups over a period of 12
months time. The BMI and waist circumference are the measuring criteria in the study. The
groups are:
1. Children who wait listed for 12 months intervention.
2. Children whose parents took the training. Inclusive of both the groups.
The study is an important novel as that will be helping so many effected children to control
their diet for a healthy living. The study was to connect the relation between not only parenting
training but also about healthy lifestyle factors. This study would change the dietary curriculum
across the globe and would increase the chances of benefiting from the training.
The intervention
The intervention was to introduce a parenting skill training to help parents to change their
lifestyle for the successful weight control result. The parents were encouraged to participate in
the positive parenting programs. A triple P marking was developed for the social learning and
child development theory to train and promote the parents to control the behavior of the children.
The program was of 2 hours of group session in one month and progressing to 15 minutes
telephonic session in next 3 months. There were 3 groups formed for examining the intervention.
The one with lifestyle training P+DA, second with no extra lifestyle training P, and the third
group was wait listed for 1 year WLC. The program was based on training resource material
consisting of the dietary and activity based examples. There were two interventions the one with
the lifestyle training and the other without any life style training (Bray, Kim, Wilding, & World
Obesity Federation, 2017).

2Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
The Outcome
The outcome was positive as the parents in the P +DA group followed the schedule. The
result showed a major change in the waist measurement of boys who participated in the study. It
was seen that parents in the full fledged program took 7 extra sessions on intensive life style
training. The parents in the P+DA arm completed the all the program in the 4 weekly session
only. The outcome was compared among each of the group and also with WLC who waited for
12 months before inetervesion.
The study design
There were two Child weight Management interventions namely the P+DA and P. The
P+DA were parenting skill training with intensive life style education. And the P group was only
about parenting skill and no life style education. The groups were compared to each other and
also with the 12 months controlled wait listed group WLC. The study was conducted at two
metropolitan teaching hospitals at Adelaide, Australia. The study was approved by two bodies
the Flinders research ethics and the Woman and children hospital for ethics communities. Study
was conducted according to the consolidated standard of reporting trail statement. Recruitment
of the sample was randomly computer generated 3 block design. Selection was random based on
the gender and the location for the study conducted (Witten, 2016).. The researcher who was the
part of this study was not involved in the randomization process. DR Golley conducted all the
interventions. She also developed the life style education component and got trained for the
accredited parenting component. Children were not suppose to attend the intervention it was the
“parents only” mode study where the parents has to implement the life style education in the
family.
Study population
The families that participated in 2002-2003 study gathered through media and school
news letter advertisements. Age considered for the study was between 6 and 9 years and the
criteria for the selection was “overweight”. The weight qualification was based on the
international obesity task force definition, if the child passed those test then they were included
in the study. The child with BMI z score criteria more than 3.5, suffering from the syndrome
cause of obesity, under medication implications, or any disability were excluded from the study.

3Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
Consent from the parents was taken before the study started. About 38 parents participated in
P+DA (with education of lifestyle) and 37 in P group (without lifestyle training). The same was
not divided or collected based on the gender. The measurement of the results was BMI z and
waist circumference measurement. Sample size was based on the difference of the BMI z score
in 12 months from the line of 0.26-+ 0.49 . Total of 42 children and per group total 126 was
included in the study. All the analysis was done on the SPSS and other specific software. Based
on many factors from parental obesity, ancestral obesity, socio economical and growth potential
the selection of the subject was done (Foerste, Reid, & Reddihough, 2016).
The main findings
To have an effective weight management in prepubertal children the study had a family
based interventions. It divided the group in 2. The two groups were separated by one given the
parenting skill training along with education on healthy lifestyle training (P+DA) and the other
was only provided with the parenting skill training (P). The study influences the eating habits
and activities of the children to minimize the adiposity in the duration of 12 months of the study.
The third group was WLC the 12 month wait listed group that was used for the benchmarking
the results. The results of all the groups were compared among each other. (Gibson, 2017). The
activities in the lifestyle program focused on eating order with food serve recommendations, to
understand the label before usage, modifying the recipe. It was observed that after 12 months of
training a difference was seen in the measurement of the results in all the three groups. All the
three groups showed a reduction in the BMI z score. The waist circumference measurement and
the z score was seen to decrease in the two groups significantly but not in the WLC group. As the
study was not based on the gender, so when it was adjusted, the results changed and it was found
that boys performed better than girls (Garnett, 2016). It seemed the program affected the boys
more. The intervention had no adverse impact on the linear growth of any child. It was found
that the metabolic profile was not affected in any of the group. The attendance was around 76%
in both the groups (Pacheco, 2018).

4Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
Fig1. Sample selection based on the given criteria.
It was observed that the height of the kids who participated and those who were in the
wait list group increased between 6.5+- 1.3 cms. The BMI z score reduced by 9 % in the P+DA
group and 6% in the P group and 5% in the WLC group. There was an increase in the waist
circumference and z score in some of the participants.19% and 24% percentage of children
showed increased number in the measurement criteria in the P+DA and P group, respectively.
45% of the children showed increased numbers in both the measurements criteria in the WLC
group.
Fig 2. The outcome of the study.
Study shows that truncal adiposity in the Australian children is increasing and mainly targeting
female body most. It seems that it’s tough for female body to dispose the fats easily.
Improvement
The study was not based on gender thus the study was to be done on sub analysis basis
taking gender into the consideration. The size of the sample to be increased in the future study.
Life style training was alone sufficient to bring the change in the weight moderation of children.

5Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
Parents with sufficient life style knowledge was seen performing well (Lennon, 2016). In the
next study this consideration to be included to find new results.
The analysis of the internal validity
The study was based on the concept of parenting skill modification and Healthy lifestyle
training. Thus it can be said that the change in the weight of the children who participated has
been affected by the training in both the groups. The study can be a non causal incidence as the
weight loss was also seen in the group who was in the 12 months waiting list. It was not affected
by the intervention of the studies. Outcome was semi affected by effect of change in the mindset
of the WLC groups because there were retained by the team influencing them by the idea of diet
controls (Chukhraiev, 2017).
Yes the results are clearly presented. The answers to the entire question framed in the
research can be found in the study. The study was unbiased as the selection process was very
scientific, individual and systematic. Details of change in the BMI and the waist circumference is
provided in all the criteria. It can be said that at some point the study seems to be too unrelated
and unnecessary (Williams, 2016). The BMI was measured only for the present group that went
for the research where as some points of past studies were included. Yes if there is a change in
the number of Samples for experiment, age or place then the results may change. The study
group was formed after taking many things into consideration and if any of the criteria is
changed the result is likely to change (Lobstein, 2015).
Yes the results are likely to be affected by the bias interruptions. Based on the study
there was 5 board incidences where the results could have deemed to be biased. While recruiting
the sample there could have been the possibilities of manipulation or favoring one kinds of
specifications. That would have changed the demography of the sample selected and thus
resulting in biasness (Napuk & Palmer, 2017).
The measurement tools are limited to BMI z and Waist circumference. This could have been
changed to more dynamic base that could have affected the case end result.

6Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
More than one facilitator avoided the circumstances of miss management and biased result
inclusion. The internal validity is satisfied with the result that the whole study was based on the
standard protocol and done by a single facilitator.
The duration of 12 months was adequate to measure the difference in the teams . Thus if time
would have been changed according to the new study and minimized or increased as and when
required than the bias result would be possible.
Change in age could have been a factor of different result and the difference in age can be
termed as a minor sign of biasness. Or if the parents of some of the kids where seeking external
medication or method to minimize the weight that was never told in the study could again give a
biased results
Over all the study followed very finely all the important guidelines to effectively
complete the study of the interventions based on the board criteria. Thus the task was well sorted
and not at all confounding. There was no interaction or sub group analysis conducted but has
been taken into consideration for future specially for the gender base study.
Causal association
After the analysis it can be confirmed that the change in the weight of many participants
was due to the interventions applied. The reasoning between the intervention and the outcome is
true and causal. Parenting training along with the life style training helped most of the contestant
to minimize the weight gain in the child. This can be concluded by the references of the parents
who wanted to take more such training. The parents felt the change so positive that they
requested for more assistance. The number of parents opting out was less and due to some
personal reasons. Thus the causal effect of the outcome and the exposure can be determined true
and fair. The internal validity is very true and pure and not biased as per the requirement of the
study. Outcome was seen not immediately but after the course of 12 months and the differences
was significantly visible. Exposure and the outcome is causal in the criteria given but it cannot
be denied that the parents may be seeking some other methods to control the weight of the child.
The non causal effects are only possible if the parents were not adequately educated about the
impact of life style rules (Langley, 2018).

7Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
Yes if the study population was impacted positively from the training of lifestyle along
with parenting program than definitely the same age group of the same source population with
the same criteria of exception can experience the same result. The study was conducted on the
population of kids of age 6 to 9 years of age. With no medical complication or heredity
symptoms and if all the exceptions are met then anyone with the same impact can see the same
results and can be applied on the relevant group. This study was conducted with purpose of
forming a better way to cut on the obesity and adiposity conditions of the kids in Australia. Thus
after following the proper study methodoly this case can be applied to any relevant crowd.
Appraise External validity and conclude
The discussion section was about the result and how the study was conducted. Dr. Golley
was the sole facilitator from designing of the sample to conducting the training. The study
concluded that the training effect was not seen significantly on the girls where as the minimizing
of the z report and the circumference of the waist changed in the case of boys. It was found that
there was no major change in the metabolism profile of children in any group. The study was
conducted to train the parent and children and not to cure the symptoms individually. It was a
complete independent study with the waist circumference and BMI z score as the benchmark
measurements. The study was conducted successfully with positive results to be shared and
adapted.
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chronic relapsing progressive disease process. A position statement of the World Obesity
Federation. Obesity Reviews, 18(7), 715-723.

8Essay on Obesity in Children and new Interventions
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