Long-term changes in eating-related problems and quality of life in children with overweight and obesity attending a 10-week lifestyle camp

Dorthe Dalstrup Jakobsen; Kajsa Järvholm; Lea Brader; Jens Meldgaard Bruun

doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2024.04.002

Long-term changes in eating-related problems and quality of life in children with overweight and obesity attending a 10-week lifestyle camp

Obes Res Clin Pract. 2024 May 4:S1871-403X(24)00041-3. doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2024.04.002. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Dorthe Dalstrup Jakobsen¹, Kajsa Järvholm², Lea Brader³, Jens Meldgaard Bruun⁴

Affiliations

¹ Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark; Danish National Center for Obesity, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark. Electronic address: dorthedalstrup@clin.au.dk.
² Department of Psychology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden.
³ Global Nutrition, Arla Foods amba, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark.
⁴ Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark; Danish National Center for Obesity, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark.

PMID: 38705820
DOI: 10.1016/j.orcp.2024.04.002

Abstract

Background: Eating-related problems (e.g., binge eating (BE)) and impaired quality of life (QoL) is more prevalent in children with overweight and obesity. This study aimed to investigate changes in self-reported overeating (OE), BE, and QoL in children with overweight or obesity attending multicomponent 10-week lifestyle camps with a 52-weeks follow-up. Additionally, the study sought to investigate whether self-reported OE/BE before camp was associated with changes in QoL.

Methods: Children aged 7 to 14-years could attend camp if they had overweight/obesity, were lonely, unhappy, or had social or family-related problems. In this study only children with overweight and obesity were included (n:185). OE, BE, and QoL were measured using self-reported questionnaires.

Results: In total, 38 % of the children reported regular BE at baseline. Regular OE, occasional BE, and occasional OE was reported by 14 %, 13 %, and 11 %, respectively, while 24 % reported no eating-related problems. The relative risk of experiencing eating-related problems decreased at 10-weeks compared to baseline. Additionally, the probability of regular OE (RR 0.12 (95 % CI 0.04;0.38) (X² = 8.44, p = 0.004)) and regular BE (RR 0.01 (95 % CI 0.00;0.11) (X² = 9.91, p = 0.002)) remained lower at 52-weeks relative to baseline. All QoL dimensions improved after camp, and the presence of self-reported OE and regular BE at baseline was significantly associated with lower QoL at baseline, 10 and 52-weeks.

Conclusion: Children self-reporting OE and BE may be a particular vulnerable group that needs more support from camp staff and healthcare professionals to improve QoL.

Clinical trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov with ID: NCT04522921.

Keywords: Binge eating; Childhood obesity; Children; Disordered eating; Eating-related problems; Lifestyle intervention; Overeating; Quality of Life.

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT04522921