The studies either compared the home-based program to another program or to a comparison group of kids not enrolled in any program. All measured the kids' weight or body mass index (BMI), an indication of body fat percentage, at least one year after the program had ended, to see if it had any effect.

Some of the programs did result in kids eating more fruits fruta planta pink and veggies or getting up and moving around more than the comparison groups, but none affected kids' weight or BMI, according to results published in the journal Pediatrics.

In each study, the percentage of kids qualifying as overweight or obese was the same in the program group and the comparison group.

Among the three studies that showed the programs worked, although fruta planta not for weight, the findings may have been because those programs had components in schools or primary care.

There isn't enough evidence out there to draw real conclusions about these programs, according to Helen Skouteris, who was not involved in the study.