- Appetitive traits improved after the 10-week lifestyle camp and remained better at three years, though effects attenuated from post-treatment to three-year follow-up.
- Proportion reporting regular binge-eating fell from 41% at baseline to 14% at three years; few children developed new onset overeating or binge-eating.
- At three-year follow-up most participants remained living with overweight or obesity (30% overweight, 53% obesity), indicating need for continued support.
Eat Disord. 2026 Aug 9:1-20. doi: 10.1080/10640266.2026.2713524. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Lifestyle interventions tend to reduce disordered eating short-term in children, but little is known about long-term changes. This study aimed to investigate changes in appetitive traits and episodes of overeating and binge-eating up to three years after a 10-week multicomponent lifestyle camp in 7-14-year-olds. Participants were referred to the lifestyle camp due to overweight/obesity, and/or psychosocial challenges. The Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) and selected items from the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) were completed at baseline, after camp, and at one- and three-year follow-ups. The majority of participants (mean age 15.4 ± 1.3 years) were living with overweight (30%) or obesity (53%) at the three-year follow-up. Appetitive traits improved with sustained effect; however, the effects attenuated from post-treatment to the three-year follow-up. Compared to baseline (41%), a smaller proportion reported regular binge-eating at the three-year follow-up (14%), and only a small group of children reported new onset overeating and binge-eating during follow-up. In conclusion, the lifestyle camp setting is a safe and effective intervention that improves appetitive traits and reduces binge-eating over a three-year follow-up period. However, continued support may be needed to sustain improvements, and future studies should examine whether addressing disordered eating within childhood obesity treatment enhances long-term outcomes.
PMID:42571640 | DOI:10.1080/10640266.2026.2713524
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