Brief Motivational Interviewing to Reduce Child Body Mass Index

The study is a cluster-randomized intervention trial with clinical practices serving as the unit of randomization and analysis. The investigators are testing two increasingly intensive interventions compared to a minimal intensity/Usual Care Group. Group 1 (Usual Care) includes determination of BMI percentile at baseline, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up. Usual Care (UC) practitioners provide parents with educational materials and routine care. UC pediatricians and their study staff received a ½ day study orientation session which included a brief CME-type workshop addressing obesity treatment.. Group 2 (Pediatric Practitioner only) includes the same assessment points as UC. In addition, Group 2 Pediatric Practitioners (PPs) received 2 days of in-person training in Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Behavior Therapy (BT) as well as an interactive DVD MI booster training system focusing on pediatric obesity. PPs in Group 2 are asked to schedule 3 proactive counseling sessions with a parent of the index child in Year 1 and one additional "booster" visit in year 2. To guide their counseling they are provided with a food and activity screening tool. In addition, Group 2 practices are provided with educational materials written in a style consistent with Motivational Interviewing and Self Determination Theory. Unlike in Group 1, where all of the educational materials are provided proactively to each parent, in Groups 2 and 3, materials are distributed on a more selective tailored basis depending on parent needs. Group 3 (PP+RD) includes the same intervention components as Group 2, but adds MI-based counseling from a trained and registered dietitian (RD) who is linked to that practice. RDs deliver 6 MI-based counseling sessions over 2 years. The intervention is front loaded with 4 sessions in Year 1 and the remaining 2 in Year 2. The RD sessions are delivered both in-person (required for visit 1) and optionally by telephone or in-person, subsequently. Similar to MDs, RDs received 2.0 days of in-person MI and BT training, and the interactive DVD MI booster training system.

Inclusion criteria

• 85th - 97th percentile BMI
• parent/care giver ability to converse in English
• working telephone

Exclusion criteria

• child under current subspecialty care for overweight/obesity
• child currently taking weight-altering medication (at enrollment)