The Odense Overweight Intervention Study

Strong and consistent evidence have shown that overweight, including obesity, is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults. Several studies have found an association between overweight in childhood and increased risk of morbidity and mortality later in life. The prevalence of overweight in children and adolescents has increased in recent years, and consequently it is important to identify effective approaches in the prevention and treatment of overweight in young individuals. Approaches such as resident weight loss camps have shown promising results. A residential camp setting provides an opportunity to increase and control exposure to, for instance, particular foodstuffs, beverages and physical activity opportunities. However, well-designed studies with sufficient participants are still needed on the reversal of overweight in childhood with increased focus on documenting predictors of behavior changes associated with decreases in overweight. This study is carried through as a randomized controlled trial which investigates the effect of participating in a 6 week health promoting resident for overweight fifth grade children camp followed by 46 weeks of family support. The study hypothesis is that participating in a 6 week resident camp and a following period of 46 weeks of child and family support will induce a reduction in body mass index (BMI). In addition it is expected that the intensity and duration intervention program is sufficient to cause changes in physiological parameters related to a reduced risk of lifestyle diseases.