Oral Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2023

Growing Healthy Kids: Results of a quasi-experimental evaluation of a paediatric weight management service (98005)

Faye Southcombe 1 , Slavica Krstic 1 , Fang Lin 1 , Sinthu Vivekanandarajah 1 , Paul Chay 1 , Mandy Williams 1 , Hei-Lok Cheng 2 , Jahid Khan 3 , Valsa Eapen 1 3 , Sarah Dennis 1 2 , Elizabeth Denney-Wilson 2 , Raghu Lingam 1 3
  1. SWSLHD, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
  2. University of Sydney, Sydney
  3. University of New South Wales, Sydney

Introduction: Despite the disproportionate burden of obesity felt among children of low-income and minority groups, they remain underrepresented in the current obesity treatment literature.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study evaluated the impact of the Growing Healthy Kids (GHK) Service over a period of 6 months, compared to waitlist, for children aged 2 to 17 years affected by obesity. The GHK Service delivered a multi-component intervention which included targeted dietary, exercise, and behavioural interventions, and medical assessment to children in one of the most disadvantaged and ethnically diverse areas in Australia. The primary outcome was mean change in body mass index (BMI), expressed as kg/m2 and as a percentage of the 95Th percentile (BMI95pct).

Results: Of the 543 children included in the primary analysis 59.9% (n = 325) were male and the average age was 9.84 years (SD 3.87 years), 6.8% (n = 37) of children identified as Aboriginal, 20.3% (n = 110) required a non-English interpreter and 15.6% (n = 93) children were neurodiverse. Intervention resulted in a significant improvement in BMI (-1.30, 95% CI -1.94 to -0.66, p <0.001) and BMI95pct (-5.00, 95% CI -7.68 to -2.33, p = 0.001) and significant improvements in blood pressure, HbA1c, ALT, and mental wellbeing at 6-month follow-up.

Conclusion: This person-centred, multidisciplinary lifestyle intervention for the management of obesity in children achieved clinically meaningful change among an ethnically diverse, low socioeconomic cohort. Embedding this program in the community setting improved access and demonstrated greater clinical improvement than studies within majority populations.