Family-Based Behavioral Treatment Improves Child Weight Outcomes

TUESDAY, Aug. 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) combined with enhanced standard of care (ESOC) in primary care improves child weight outcomes, according to a study published online July 27 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Amanda E. Staiano, Ph.D., from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and colleagues compared the effectiveness of ESOC with and without FBT in reducing body mass index (BMI) among children and adolescents (aged 6 to 15 years) with obesity. The analysis included 730 child-parent dyads treated at one of 41 primary care practices.

The researchers found that at 12 months, children in the group receiving ESOC+FBT experienced a significant reduction in percent median BMI (−6.4) versus ESOC (−2.6). Across both treatment groups, children”s quality of life improved at months 12 and 18. While both groups experienced weight-associated quality-of-life improvement, greater improvement was seen with ESOC+FBT at the end of the treatment period (6.8 versus 4.8 units). No adverse events were seen.

“The study has shown that delivering lifestyle behavioral treatment for obesity to a diverse patient population can be successful in a primary care setting,” Sandra Hassink, M.D., medical director of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Institute of Healthy Childhood Weight and past president of the AAP, said in a statement. “This is an important trial because health behavior and lifestyle treatment is the foundation for comprehensive obesity treatment.”

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