Table 3.

Studies evaluating the effect of the holiday period on body weight in children and college students.

Author, year, and country	Number of participants, mean age, sex, BMI, and prevalence of overweight/obesity	Date of measurementsa	Sample, masking of participants, retentionb	Change in obesity parameter	p value
Branscum  et al. 2010 United States	88 children (average age 9.1 years)   Boys = 53% Girls = 47%   BMI percentile = 73.9 ± 26.0    Normal weight = 51% Overweight/obesity = 49%	Initial measurement: in early December.   Final measurement: in mid-January.	Convenience sample.   No.   Retention 98%.	BMI percentile = reduction 0.65	p > 0.05
Hull et al. 2006 United States	82 university students (18–40 years)   Men = 45%  Women = 55%   BMI = 23.9 ± 4 kg/m2    Normal weight = 66%  Overweight/obesity = 34%	Initial measurement: November 14 to 22.   Final measurement: January 9 to 21.	Convenience sample.   No.   Retention 82%.	Weight = −0.1 kg	p = 0.71

^aWeight of participants in all studies was measured as part of the study. ^bMasking: the participants did not know that the study objective was to evaluate the effect of holidays on obesity parameters; BMI: body mass index.