Two Simple Steps Can Help Prevent Excess Weight Gain In Overweight Children

New study provides the first clinical evidence that overweight children can effectively prevent excessive weight gain by making small changes to their daily lifestyle. While it has long been suggested that physical inactivity and diets high in calories from sugar and fat contribute to increased childhood obesity, this study proves that simple alterations to these factors can help counter America's obesity crisis.

This family-based study showed that, over six months, 67 percent of overweight children, as defined by body mass index (BMI), maintained or reduced their percent BMI-for-age, compared to just 53% in the self-monitoring group. BMI is the most widely accepted method of classifying overweight and obesity. These results were directly linked to participation in a fun, family-based program encouraging all family members to make two, small, healthy lifestyle changes:

-- Increased physical activity by 2,000 steps per day (approximately one mile)

-- Elimination of 100 calories from the diet with an emphasis on replacing dietary sugars with SPLENDA Brand Sweetener.

"The more childhood obesity is researched, the clearer it becomes that weight control is a family responsibility, rather than a personal issue," said Dr. James O. Hill, America On the Move Foundation (AOM) co-founder, and professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. "Healthy eating and active living is taught through parents, so it was critical that we focused our study on supporting small changes in nutrition and physical activity for the whole family."

The randomized, single-blind cohort study was conducted by the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, the primary research arm for AOM, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals and communities across the country improve health and the quality of life. Families involved in the study set individual and family-specific goals for making the activity and diet-related changes.

The publication of this study is particularly timely as one-third of all U.S. children are either overweight or dangerously close to becoming so.

"With just two simple steps, overweight children in these families were able to achieve positive results. It is our hope that more families will find fun and simple ways to become more active and eat more healthfully together," said Dr. Hill. "This realistic and tangible program enables parents to help the whole family to live healthier."

About the Study

The study was funded through a grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and support from McNeil Nutritionals, LLC. In the study, investigators randomized 216 families with at least one overweight child to either a lifestyle intervention group or a control group. Families in the intervention group were asked to eliminate 100 calories a day from their diet, in part by replacing sugar with SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener or consuming beverages made with sucralose, the sweetening ingredient in SPLENDA Brand Sweetener, and by increasing physical activity by 2,000 steps daily. Families in the control group were asked to monitor their diet and exercise levels. Food journals and pedometers were utilized to measure progress. After six months, significantly more overweight children in the intervention group maintained or reduced their percent BMI-for-age, compared to the self-monitoring group.