Active clinical trials for "Pediatric Obesity"

The objective of this project is to pilot test a behavioral intervention for modifying the diet and physical activity patterns of overweight preschool children through improved parenting and nutritional education(LAUNCH). This intervention will be compared to standard of care for preschool overweight in the primary care setting using a randomized clinical trial design (RCT. The results of this pilot RCT will provide data integral to estimating the effect size for a more definitive RCT of the intervention in the future. The primary hypothesis is: H1: LAUNCH will result in a significantly greater decrease in BMI z score compared to the standard of care at 12 months post-treatment.

The primary objective of this randomized, parallel group, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is to determine whether treatment with metformin enhances insulin sensitivity in a group of ethnically diverse obese insulin-resistant adolescents with normal glucose tolerance.

Obesity is a major public health problem. At least 15 million American adults are obese, and the number is rising. Childhood obesity is also increasing in prevalence and currently affects approximately 11-22 percent of children aged 6 to 11. Childhood obesity is associated with serious negative physical, emotional, and social consequences. Obese children are at high risk for becoming obese as adults; 24-44 percent of obese adults were obese as children. The risk of an obese child becoming an obese adult is especially high when at least one parent is obese. To date, adult obesity is known to be resistant to treatment. In contrast, promising long-term effects have been found with children who received behavioral family-based weight loss treatment. However, even with state-of-the-science programs, a substantial percentage of children (i.e., over 40 percent) regain all or most of the weight lost once treatment ends. The proposed study examined the efficacy of two intervention strategies designed to improve the long-term maintenance of weight loss in children relative to discontinued treatment contact following an active weight loss treatment phase (no maintenance treatment control (NTC).

The percentage of overweight children between the ages of 6 and 11 has nearly tripled in the last three decades, and rates are even higher among African Americans.Overweight children are at-risk for numerous health problems, thus effective treatments are urgently needed. This study will evaluate an innovative intervention for ethnically diverse parents (NOURISH), which focuses on helping parents role model and teach their children healthy behaviors.

The US is in the midst of an obesity epidemic, affecting young children. The pediatric primary care setting is an ideal place to address this problem since most families have frequent contact with their pediatrician and a child's health status is regularly assessed in this setting. Recommendations for treating children with a body mass index (BMI) over the 85th percentile in the primary care setting have been developed by an Expert Committee on childhood. Programs are needed that meet the recommendations from the Committee, which include: 1) beginning treatment as young as possible; 2) focusing on the family, with the parent being the primary change agent for treatment; 3) using behavior modification techniques to change eating and activity behaviors; and 4) making 2 or 3 very specific changes in diet and activity at one time. Thus, the aim of this R21 application is to develop, implement, and evaluate a 6-month behavioral childhood obesity intervention that meets the Committee's recommendations and can be implemented in a primary care setting. A second aim of this project is to determine which eating and activity behaviors should be targeted in the intervention. One hundred thirty-five children, aged 4 to 9 years with a BMI > 85th percentile, assessed and referred by their pediatricians, will be randomized to one of three conditions: 1) a newsletter condition; 2) a Behavioral Parenting Program that increases physical activity (60 min/day) and decreases sweetened drink consumption (< 3 servings/week) (Traditional); or 3) a Behavioral Parenting Program that reduces TV watching (< 2 hours/day) and increases low-fat milk consumption (2 servings/day) (Substitutes). Follow-up assessments on weight, height, and standardized BMI (z-BMI), the primary dependent variable, will be conducted at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Pediatricians will provide follow-up letters to families, regarding weight and height status, following the assessments. This pilot study allows us to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a pediatric obesity intervention that optimizes the role of the pediatrician and meets the Committee's recommendations for treatment in a primary care setting. Moreover, by comparing the effects of targeting the traditional or substitute behaviors, data will be obtained for a power analysis for a full-scale trial of the effects of these two approaches on long-term weight loss.

Obesity in adolescents is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In order to detect early development of cardiovascular disease, early detection of the endothelium of obese adolescents is needed. Endothelium dysfunction is an early stage of developing atherosclerosis, which can be a predictor of cardiovascular disease development in the future. Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) is a non-invasive method that can measure endothelium function and predict the risk of cardiovascular disease, which is not only able to measure artery diameter, but also provides function index of nitric oxide (NO) in the endothelium. FMD is negatively related to BMI. Meanwhile, Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, because when its levels increase, ET-1 can cause a condition of hyperinsulinemia. ET-1 was found to be high in patients with cardiovascular disorders, as well as in obese and diabetic subjects. Alternative methods for assessing endothelial function by measurement of biomarkers of activation and endothelial dysfunction such as soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1). Levels of sICAM-1 have been found to be related positively to age, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and inversely to estrogen. Furthermore, associations have been found between sICAM-1 and cardiovascular mortality in both healthy individuals and populations at high risk. The aim of the study was to evaluate FMD, concentrations of ET-1 and sICAM-1 in adolescents with a presence of obesity and hypertension and to compare these with controls (obesity and non hypertension), as well as to analyze the correlations between FMD, ET-1, sICAM-1 and blood pressure values.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a behavioral weight loss group in conjunction with a prescribed breakfast can help children between 8 and 12 years of age change their behaviors to help them lose weight and become healthier.

This study evaluates and compares the efficacy of professional versus peer-based delivery of family-based treatment for childhood overweight and obesity in elementary school aged children. Families will be randomized to receive treatment from professionals or to receive treatment from professionally-trained peer interventionists. Some parents will then be invited to serve as peer interventionists for the next group of families.

The purpose of this study is to help overweight or obese children to maintain or reduce their body mass index (BMI) through the home-based parent training program the investigators developed called DRIVE. The investigators hypothesize that children from families that receive the DRIVE program will show greater maintenance or improvement in their BMIs than families who do not receive DRIVE.

The ongoing global rise in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among all ages and among all ethnic groups, figures into a real epidemic phenomenon. This is accompanied by a higher incidence in serious health risks, already present at an early age, "switching-on" the engine towards obesity-related co-morbid diseases and morbid obesity. Weight loss is the only way to avoid systemic and cardiovascular complications of obesity. Weight loss devices have been recently introduced in bariatric surgery, also in children. They mostly require invasive procedures to be applied. Mini-invasive devices would be needed to obtain weight loss in the pediatric population, since the early age of involved patients. Obalon intragastric balloons, are swallowable devices. They are filled with liquid or air, and have been used to induce weight loss in obese adults. The investigators aimed to perform a pilot study in pediatrics, and monitor weight loss, metabolic and cardiovascular parameters modifications, after up-to-3 Obalon® Gastric Balloons placement.