Short- and medium-term impact of a residential weight-loss camp for overweight adolescents
-
Helena Fonseca
,
Antonio Labisa Palmeira
Abstract
Introduction: Management of adolescent obesity in clinical practice has been usually centered on the promotion of healthy eating and an active lifestyle, with a weak evidence base. In search of creative and more effective interventions, our objective was to evaluate the immediate and follow-up effectiveness of a residential camp program for obese adolescents.
Methods: A total of 28 obese adolescents (15 girls), mean age 13.3±1.7 years and body mass index (BMI) 30.3±5.4 kg/m2, who were attending a tertiary health unit, enrolled in a 2-week camp. The activities were prepared and supervised by different specialists. All adolescents were assessed for anthropometric and psychosocial variables including body image, self-esteem, quality of life and depressive symptoms. Evaluations were conducted on the first and last day of the camp and at 6 months’ follow-up. The effect of treatment was analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) mixed models.
Results: At the end of the camp, weight was reduced by –2.7±1.2%, BMI by –0.8±0.4 units and waist circumference by –2.8±9.8 cm. A reduction in depressive symptoms was identified, with greater reductions in BMI associated with a more significant improvement in depressive symptoms. At the 6 months’ follow-up only girls maintained BMI reduction, with boys having increased their BMI.
Discussion: In the short-term the camp was effective in reducing BMI and improving depressive symptoms. Only girls were able to proceed with BMI reduction at 6 months. These gender differences should be further explored. Ongoing research is examining the maintenance of these improvements.
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©2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate
- Review
- Sexual and reproductive health of Portuguese adolescents
- Original articles
- Tobacco consumption among 12- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Delhi
- Perceptions of communication, family adaptability and cohesion: a comparison of adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer and their parents
- The prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in high school: a 2011 survey
- Short- and medium-term impact of a residential weight-loss camp for overweight adolescents
- Personal and family attributes of pregnant teenagers: findings from a community-based study in Sri Lanka
- Adolescents with anorectal malformation: physical outcome, sexual health and quality of life
- What sources do adolescents turn to for information about their health concerns?
- Experiences of returning to elite alpine skiing after ACL injury and ACL reconstruction
- Hyperandrogenemia in male autistic children and adolescents: relation to disease severity
- The career aspirations of adolescents with eating disorders: an exploratory study and suggested links to adolescent self-concept development
- Differential effects of religiosity on sexual initiation among Nigerian in-school adolescents
- Prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescent girls in Osogbo, South Western Nigeria
- The concepts of work, study, and leisure of parents and children
- How do Iranian female adolescents express their health education needs? A needs assessment with qualitative thematic analysis
- Attitudes and knowledge levels of nurses and residents caring for adolescents with an eating disorder
- Predictors of suicide ideation and risk for HIV among juvenile offenders in Georgia
- Short Communication
- Association between food intake frequency and obesity among adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia
- Case reports
- Unusual cause of urethral bleeding in an adolescent: a case in dilemma
- Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: a specific cause of cyclical vomiting
