Background The public health service showed interest in the management of obesity of children, however, the researches about the effect of that intervention were limited. This study evaluated the short-term effect of weight management program provided by one public health service for obese children.
Methods Twenty-two children among 31 obese children enrolled initially in the 6 month weight management program were followed for l8weeks. The program included diet education that was conducted for children and parents as a group,
group exercise that was performed 6 times in a week, and 2 days-residential summer camp for children
Results 58% of participants were boys and ages of them were from 8 to 12years. Sixty-nine percents of them showed at least one abnormal biochemical finding among ASL ALT, total cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose. Ninty-five percents had ever ´cosidered weight reduction and 60% of them had tried-to lose weight. Their relative BMI was 145.9% and 145.1% in the beginning and at 18th week, respectively(P > 0.05). However, the relative BMl change after´ intervention was associated negatively with child´s age(Spearman correlation coefficient--0.44. P-O.D41).,Their perceived size for. current body shape was smaller (f--´J 009) and the discrepancy between the current and desired ´body shape decreased after intervention(P=0.013).´ Self-reported eating behaviors(P=0.039), the duration of TV viewing (F=0 039); computer use(P-0.040), and moderate
`physical activity(P-=0.050) changed positively after intervention
Conclusions Although the group approach in the obesity management program provided by public health service for children was
effective in terms of improvement of body image and lifestyle, individualized approaches would be necessary to be
successful in weight control. (Korean J Health Promot Dis Prev 2O04;4:18-24)
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