Family-based treatment of pediatric obesity in low-income minority youth: Strategies, outcomes, and novel predictors of success.

Childhood obesity remains a pressing public health issue. Low-income minority children are disproportionately affected by obesity and disparities are potentially widening in these populations. Multicomponent family-based behavioral group (FBBG) treatment programs, which use comprehensive approaches to target multiple health behaviors, currently provide the strongest evidence for childhood obesity treatment. However, low-income minority children are not adequately represented in these studies. To address this gap, the primary aim of this study was to examine the effect of Healthy Hawks (HH), a standard FBBG treatment program, in low-income minority youth 2-19 years of age who are overweight or obese. Parent-child dyads were recruited from various urban clinics to participate in a standard 12-week FBBG program targeting diet, physical activity, and related weight-change skills. Child body mass index (BMI) percent above the 95th percentile (%BMIp95) was measured as the primary outcome at baseline, post-intervention (12-week), and 1-year follow-up. Findings from this primary aim suggest that HH is effective in improving %BMIp95 at post-intervention (n=201; β=-1.29 (0.37), p