Impact of a comprehensive intervention to families with teenage sons with overweight and obesity in a primary care setting: A case report

Abstract Background Overweight and obesity in adolescence is a public health problem and a risk factor for chronic noncommunicable diseases. To prevent further diseases, preventive interventions are needed, including educational programmes, addressed in a primary care setting, that include the whole family. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a comprehensive intervention, targeting families with teenage sons with overweight and obesity, in the lifestyle, cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome in a primary care setting. Methods A pre-post intervention study was conducted. Twelve families with teenage sons between 10 and 14 years were enrolled; all the families were affiliated to the IMSS (Insituto Mexicano del Seguro Social). The comprehensive strategy was applied for 6 months (educational sessions for self-care, physical activity and nutritional counselling). The following measurements were performed before and after the intervention: the FANTASTIC lifestyle survey was applied. Clinical, anthropometric and biochemical assessments were performed. The changes in life style and cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed with Student’s t -test or Mann-Whitney U test. Results The lifestyle was improved after the intervention in the domains of family and friends, nutrition and alcohol intake (p  HDL increased (p  Conclusions Our comprehensive intervention for the families in a primary care setting, improved their lifestyle, decreased cardiovascular risk factors and decreased the metabolic syndrome.