Family-based lifestyle interventions that not only modify diet and physical activity but also include behavior therapy programs can help obese children lose weight and maintain that loss for at least six months. This Cochrane Review also found that in adolescents the effect lasts for at least 12 months. Adding weight controlling drugs orlistat or sibutramine to behavior change programs for adolescents may provide additional benefits.
These findings mark a change in opinion. A systematic review performed in 2003 could not find enough data to draw any conclusions about the effects of different programs. This time the researchers identified 64 randomized controlled trials involving 5230 participants, enabling them to see some definite effects.
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Jan. 22 2009
