Abstract
BackgroundAdolescents with overweight and obesity report various motivations for weight loss other than the desire for better health. However, there is little evidence regarding the main motivations for weight loss in adolescents. The present systematic review aimed to identify the motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity.MethodsA systematic search for original articles published up to December 2016 was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, and ADOLEC databases. The terms used in the search were: motivation, motive, reason, “weight loss,” “lose weight,” and adolescent.ResultsSix studies (all cross-sectional) met the selection criteria and were included in the review. The instruments used to assess the participants’ motivations for weight loss were interviews and questionnaires with open questions. Seventeen motivations for weight loss were identified, the main ones being better health, esthetic/cosmetic reasons, improvements in self-esteem, and avoidance of provocation/bullying.ConclusionsThe results of the present review show the need for validated instruments to assess the motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity. Moreover, the high frequency of motivations for weight loss related to appearance and social acceptance evidences the need for multidisciplinary weight loss interventions that consider not only the biological factors, but also the psychological and social aspects.
Highlights
Adolescents with overweight and obesity report various motivations for weight loss other than the desire for better health
The present review aimed to identify the instruments for evaluation and the main motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity
After the inclusion and exclusion criteria were assessed, six articles were included in the present review; all were cross-sectional studies [19,20,21,22,23,24]
Summary
Adolescents with overweight and obesity report various motivations for weight loss other than the desire for better health. The present systematic review aimed to identify the motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity. Considering the physical, psychological, and social health problems related to overweight and obesity in adolescents in the short, medium and long term, the reduction and control of body weight is an important. To the best of our knowledge, the motivation for weight loss in adolescents with overweight or obesity has not yet been recorded, nor have validated instruments for recording the former been presented. At this point, we refer to a systematic review by Silva et al (unpublished data)
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