Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Family-Based Virtual Childhood Obesity Management Program Delivered During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: Prospective Study

BACKGROUND: Generation Health (GH) is a 10-week family-based lifestyle program designed to promote a healthy lifestyle for families with children who are off the healthy weight trajectory in British Columbia, Canada. GH uses a blended delivery format that involves 10 weekly in-person sessions, and self-guided lessons and activities on a web portal. The blended program was adapted to be delivered virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the effectiveness of the virtual GH program compared with that of the blended GH program remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to (1) compare the effectiveness of the virtual GH program delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of the blended GH program delivered prior to the pandemic for changing child physical activity, sedentary and dietary behaviors, screen time, and parental support–related behaviors for child physical activity and healthy eating, and (2) explore virtual GH program engagement and satisfaction. METHODS: This study used a single-arm pre-post design. The blended GH program (n=102) was delivered from January 2019 to February 2020, and the virtual GH program (n=90) was delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic from April 2020 to March 2021. Families with children aged 8-12 years and considered overweight or obese (BMI ≥85th percentile according to age and sex) were recruited. Participants completed preintervention and postintervention questionnaires to assess the children’s physical activity, dietary and sedentary behaviors, and screen time, and the parent’s support behaviors. Intervention feedback was obtained by interviews. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate the difference between the virtual and blended GH programs over time. Qualitative interviews were analyzed using thematic analyses. RESULTS: Both the virtual and blended GH programs improved children’s moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (F(1,380)=18.37; P<.001; ηp(2)=0.07) and reduced screen time (F(1,380)=9.17; P=.003; ηp(2)=0.06). However, vegetable intake was significantly greater in the virtual GH group than in the blended GH group at the 10-week follow-up (F(1,380)=15.19; P<.001; ηp(2)=0.004). Parents in both groups showed significant improvements in support behaviors for children’s physical activity (F(1,380)=5.55; P=.02; ηp(2)=0.002) and healthy eating (F(1,380)=3.91; P<.001; ηp(2)=0.01), as well as self-regulation of parental support for children’s physical activity (F(1,380)=49.20; P<.001; ηp(2)=0.16) and healthy eating (F(1,380)=91.13; P<.001; ηp(2)=0.28). Families in both groups were satisfied with program delivery. There were no significant differences in attendance for the weekly in-person or group video chat sessions; however, portal usage was significantly greater in the virtual GH group (mean 50, SD 55.82 minutes) than in the blended GH group (mean 17, SD 15.3 minutes; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggested that the virtual GH program was as effective as the blended program for improving child lifestyle behaviors and parental support–related behaviors. The virtual program has the potential to improve the flexibility and scalability of family-based childhood obesity management interventions.