The proposed study is designed to provide continued follow-up from 5 to 10 years for a sample of obese children and their parents from 185 families treated using behavioral treatments across five randomized controlled outcome studies. The completed five year follow-ups showed significant treatment effects for both children and parents in individual studies. Linear regression analyses showed child percent overweight change over five years was associated with child age, baseline percent overweight, the behavior targeted during treatment, child percent overweight over the five years of observation. Parent change in percent overweight was associate with baseline parent percent overweight, assignment to exercise groups, and change in child percent overweight. We will continue to study these variables, as well as aspects of the current child and parent environment that may influence long term child and parent overweight change. These variables include the current weights and perceptions of eating and exercise behaviors for others in the participant's living, eating and exercise environments. An additional variable that has been studied and will continue to be studied is child height. Child height change over five years was associated with sex, age and baseline height, but not change in percent overweight. At ten years we will examine the influence of these variables as well as parent height on height change and young adult height.
