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Sea Lion Club

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Over the time span of one year, children who took part in the active treatment program attended biweekly meetings while those in the control group only met twice in the 12 month period. The Sea Lion Club took a multifaceted approach to combating obesity, with the first meeting of the week focusing on sports, and the second one covering diet and coping mechanisms. Both lasted approximately 45-60 minutes. With the help of their parents, children also kept logs of daily physical activity as well as consumption of fruits and vegetables. The active treatment group was divided into groups by age, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-13, so that treatments for each group could be modified to be age appropriate. Parents attended monthly meetings with psychologists to discuss their child’s progress, and some of these meetings lasted up to 2 hours. Lab tests, including blood analyses, blood pressure, body composition tests and physical exams were taken before the program, at 6 months, and after 12 months.

The Sea Lion Club was facilitated by a local sports center and health center. Funding came from the Bavarian State Ministry of Environment, Public Health, and Consumer Protection, as well as the health insurance company Siemens Betriebskrankenkasse Germany.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this program was to lower the Body Mass Index (BMI) of obese children, and thus decrease the prevalence of obesity, through a multi-faceted lifestyle intervention program.

Impact

Group based interventions are beneficial in reducing BMI and creating healthy lifestyles in young, obese individuals.

Results / Accomplishments

Investigators used a randomized control trial to assess the effectiveness of the Sea Lion Club. Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group, and then were classified by age and weight. Investigators monitored the progress of both groups through laboratory tests performed at 0, 6, and 12 months. Results showed a general improvement in the metabolic profile of the experimental group. The BMI z score of the active group dropped significantly by 0.34 (p<0.05). Additionally, the active group had lower body mass index values (p<0.05) and lower systolic blood pressure (p<0.01) after the yearlong program. There were no significant improvements in mean fat mass in the intervention group; however, both fat and lean mass increased noticeably in the control group (p<0.001). The control group essentially did not improve in any of the investigated parameters. Despite the success of the interventional group, the program did not cause a decline in HDL levels or lower heart rates (data not shown). Once the program was completed, one third of the experimental group joined weekly sport activities, while none of the control patients took the same initiative.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Primary Contact
Ina Knerr
Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Loschgestr. 15
D-91054 Erlangen
Germany
49 9131 85-33118
ina.knerr@uk-erlangen.de
Topics
Health / Physical Activity
Health / Children's Health
Health / Adolescent Health
Organization(s)
Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
Date of publication
Nov 2008
Date of implementation
2007
Geographic Type
Urban
Location
Germany
For more details
Target Audience
Children, Teens
Submitted By
Jordan Coughlin, Sonja Darwish, Tessa Savakus - UC Berkeley School of Public Health