Pediatric Obesity Treatment via Telehealth: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Purpose of Review Telehealth delivery of pediatric weight management interventions may address time, travel, and cost barriers to in-person interventions, thus improving accessibility. This narrative review highlights findings from the past 5 years of pediatric lifestyle interventions for weight man...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current obesity reports 2021-09, Vol.10 (3), p.371-384
Main Authors: Moorman, Erin L., Koskela-Staples, Natalie C., Mathai, Babetta B., Fedele, David A., Janicke, David M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral Therapy
Cardiology
Diabetes
Endocrinology
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Metabolic Diseases
Psychological Issues (V Drapeau and V Ivezaj
Section Editors
Topical Collection on Psychological Issues
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Summary:Purpose of Review Telehealth delivery of pediatric weight management interventions may address time, travel, and cost barriers to in-person interventions, thus improving accessibility. This narrative review highlights findings from the past 5 years of pediatric lifestyle interventions for weight management that utilize telehealth for treatment delivery. We describe impressions and future directions. Recent Findings We identified and included 20 studies that described unique interventions from the past 5 years. The majority of reviewed studies indicated statistically significant reductions in BMI z-scores, high retention and attendance, and high satisfaction. However, mean decreases in BMI z-scores were marginal (approximately 0.10) in all but two studies. Studies did not often report effect sizes. Summary Pediatric telehealth weight management interventions demonstrate good feasibility and acceptability. Improvement in reporting results and more rigorous research, including use of randomized designs, recruitment of larger samples, and incorporation of extended follow-up is needed to determine clinical impact and magnitude of effects.
ISSN:2162-4968
2162-4968
DOI:10.1007/s13679-021-00446-w