It’s well documented that children of obese parents are at risk of becoming obese early in life, and that obese children are at risk of becoming obese adults.Now, in the first study of its kind in the U.S., University at Buffalo researchers, who have been at the forefront of the fight against childhood obesity for nearly three decades, will test a family-based weight-control intervention in three large pediatric practices in Western New York, funded by a $2.58 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Pediatric obesity research by UB investigators dates to the 1980s, with the development by Leonard Epstein, Ph.D., UB Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and head of its Division of Behavioral Medicine, of the highly regarded “Stop-Light Diet.”

Work continued through the following decades and into the new millennium with several studies assessing the role of parents, particularly obese parents, in childhood obesity, sedentary behavior due to television watching and computer games, access to parks and playgrounds, the rising tide of type 2 diabetes in children due to obesity and the role of genetics.

Teresa Quattrin, M.D., UB professor of pediatrics and a specialist in childhood endocrinology and diabetes, is principal investigator on the new study. The intervention, which was tested successfully in a pilot study, involves the parent, child and family physician.

“We think this study is an important step toward translating effective family-based interventions into primary care to prevent and treat childhood obesity,” said Quattrin. “Currently in Western New York, 3 out of 10 young children are close to being overweight or already are overweight.

“Fifty percent of children between 3 and 5 who are overweight will remain overweight as adults, and the risk of becoming an overweight adult increases to 83 percent if both parents are overweight,” Quattrin said.

“Obesity comes with a myriad of other serious health conditions, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and low self-esteem, so it’s imperative that we find tools that can prevent and treat overweight in a clinical practice setting early on.”

James Roemmich, Ph.D., UB associate professor of pediatrics and exercise and nutrition sciences and a specialist in behavioral medicine, and Epstein, affiliated with the UB departments of social and preventive medicine and health behavior, in addition to pediatrics, are co-principal investigators on the study.

The 24-month intervention, designed as a prospective randomized controlled trial, will involve 108 children ages 2-5 with a Body Mass Index (BMI) equal to or greater than the 85th percentile for age and sex (which identifies those at risk for overweight plus those who already are overweight), and a parent with a BMI equal to or greater than 30, which defines overweight in adults.

The study will test whether the program, implemented in the child’s primary-care setting, can promote weight maintenance or modest weight loss while the child grows in height over time. Achieving this goal will gradually shift the child’s trajectory from overweight to normal weight.

Participant families will be assigned randomly to either an “intervention” group or an “enhanced usual care” group. The study is structured so that participants will benefit from being in the study, even if they are not in the intervention group.

Changing eating habits — increasing fruits and vegetables and cutting out “energy-dense” food such as snacks, cola and candy to decrease the number of calories consumed — and increasing physical activity will be the primary objectives of the study. Education on behavioral modification techniques to promote healthy habits will be part of the program.

The child’s pediatrician will be intimately involved with all aspects of the study, including following the child’s progress throughout.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is one of the five schools in UB’s Health Sciences Complex. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.