A systematic review including 42 RCTs was abstracted in DARE. In children under 13 years most studies documented short-term decreases of 5 - 20% in the proportion of children overweight (weight loss in control group not stated). Studies that manipulated parent involvement in treatment found comparable short-term outcomes regardless of whether a child participated alone or with a parent. However, the studies that found the largest and longest decreases in percent overweight include parent participation as an integral treatment component. There were few studies on treatment of obesity in adolescents.
Comment: The quality of evidence is downgraded by study quality (methodology of the review), by indirectness (differences in studied interventions and outcomes).