Shared weight and dietary changes in parent-child dyads following family-based obesity treatment

Objectives: The primary objective was to determine whether children and their participating parents undergoing family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) for obesity show similar dietary changes following treatment, and if so, whether these shared dietary changes explain the similarity in weight change within the parent- child dyad. Method: Data come from a randomized controlled trial of 148 parent- child dyads who completed FBT and were followed over a 2-year maintenance phase. Energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods ("RED" foods) and fruit and vegetable intake were assessed across time. Results: Maintenance of lower RED food intake following FBT predicted weight maintenance in children and in parents (ps <.01), and dietary and weight changes were correlated within parent- child dyads (ps <.01). Most interesting, the similarity in long-term weight maintenance between children and their parents was predicted by the similarity in long-term changes in RED food intake between children and their parents (p <.001). Conclusions: These findings point to the important role of maintaining low energy-dense, nutrient-poor food intake for long-term weight maintenance in children and parents. Furthermore, these results suggest that the correlation between parent and child weight maintenance can be explained in part by similar long-term changes in energy-dense, nutrient-poor food intake.