The Effectiveness of Family-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Weight Reduction Among Children With Obesity

The fast increasing prevalence of childhood obesity makes it necessary to prioritize effective treatment strategies to deal with this problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of family-based cognitive behavioral therapy in weight reduction among children with obesity. A randomized controlled trial with pre-test، post-test، and follow-up assessments was conducted. Thirty children with obesity and Body mass index (BMI) ≥ 95th percentile for age and gender، were selected by convenience sampling from patients attending the Amirkabir Hospital and Morsali Clinic in Arak، and were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=15) under administration of family-based cognitive behavioral therapy for a duration of six group sessions per week) and a control group (n=15). Patients were weighed at the beginning of each session and Body mass index (BMI) was measured for all participants in three phases of pre-test، post-test and follow-up. The results of analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated that this intervention was effective in reducing body mass index. According to the results، family-based cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective method for treating of childhood obesity، and may be applicable in future research and possible clinical applications in this field.