PURPOSE
The purpose of the study was to develop an emotional self-regulation program for obese children and to examine the program's effectiveness on depression, eating habits, and body mass index.
METHODS
The emotional self-regulation program was developed from theory-based strategies and a pre-post pilot study was conducted with 46 children (19: intervention, 27: control). The program included 6 weekly group sessions over 2 months. The embedded experimental model of concurrent mixed methods was used to better understand research outcomes by converging both quantitative and qualitative data. Anthropometric measurements and surveys were performed before and after the intervention. Three focus group interviews were conducted with all participants after intervention to explore their experiences.
RESULTS
The intervention group displayed decreased depression levels in the quantitative outcomes. The participants also expressed positive outcomes such as improvements in confidence, impulse management, intimacy, happiness, and losing weight.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that emotional self-regulation skills are crucial factors for obese children not only to manage their emotional problems but also to control their weight. Further research is needed with a larger sample size and randomized controlled trials.

Citations

• Effectiveness of obesity interventions among South Korean children and adolescents and importance of the type of intervention component: a meta-analysis
  Siyoung Choe, Jaesin Sa, Jean-Philippe Chaput, Deokjin Kim
  Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics.2022; 65(2): 98.     CrossRef
• Physical Activity Assessment of Preschool Children Using Accelerometer - Including Comparison of Reintegrating Counts of Different Epoch Lengths -
  Ji-Yeon Kim, Yeon-Jung Choi, Mun-Jeong Ju, Eun-Kyung Kim
  Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association.2016; 22(3): 214.     CrossRef