Introduction
Overweight and obesity in adolescence represents a major health concern globally, owing to the associated increased morbidity and mortality in adulthood. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescents in Greece is 41% and is the highest among European countries. The aim of our study was to assess the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary, personalized lifestyle intervention program of diet, sleep, and exercise in the management of overweight and obesity in adolescence.
Methods
Five hundred and forty-four (544) adolescents (mean age ± standard deviation: 12.29 ± 2.10 years; 328 females, 216 males) were studied prospectively for 1 year. Participants were classified as having severe obesity (n = 192 35.3%), obesity (n = 107, 19.7%), overweight (n = 161, 29.6%), or normal body mass index (BMI) (n = 84, 15.4%) according to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-off points. All subjects received multidisciplinary, personalized advice on diet, sleep, and exercise at frequent intervals for a period of 1 year. Detailed clinical evaluation and laboratory investigations were performed at the beginning and the end of the study.
Results
Adolescents with obesity and severe obesity had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as a more adverse cardiometabolic profile compared with their overweight and normal BMI counterparts. At the end of the study, obesity rates decreased by 15%, severe obesity rates by 33.8% and a significant improvement in most cardiometabolic risk factors was noted.
Conclusion
These findings indicate that a multidisciplinary, personalized, lifestyle intervention program is effective at reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in adolescence.