Overview
- Published Monday, July 27, 2026, the pragmatic TEAM UP trial randomly assigned 730 children ages 6–15 at 41 U.S. primary care sites and found the family-based arm produced larger weight loss than enhanced primary-care counseling alone.
- Children in the family-based group had a greater drop in percent median BMI (–6.4 units) versus the enhanced-care group (–2.6 units), with a mean difference of –3.8 units and about 42% of the family-based group achieving clinically meaningful weight loss at six months after treatment ended.
- The intervention delivered 26–33 planned sessions over a year, was billed through primary care, and families attended on average 17 sessions while also seeing their pediatrician roughly four times during the year.
- More than 75% of family treatment sessions were provided by telehealth during the study and produced outcomes comparable to in-person care, and the model worked in clinics serving Medicaid patients and families facing food insecurity.
- The trial reported no adverse events and better child-reported quality of life, and investigators are moving to five- and ten-year follow-up and implementation studies that add social-work linkages to expand access and address social needs.