Diet, Physical Activity and Behavioural Interventions for the Treatment of Overweight or Obese Young People

Globally, more children are becoming overweight or obese. Consequently they are more likely to suffer from health problems, both as children and into adulthood. More information is needed to understand what works best for treating this problem, and these reports addresses the effectiveness of diet, physical activity and behavioural interventions in reducing the weight of overweight or obese children aged 6 to 11 years and 12 to 17 years.

The reviews summarise the results of 114 studies which involved more than 13,000 children and young people. They show that a combination of diet, physical activity and behavioural change interventions may reduce weight in children aged 6 to 11 years and in adolescents aged 12 to 17, but there are limitations in the studies and variation in the results.