Parents and Adolescents: What’s the Right Mix in Obesity Treatment?

Abstract

Successful obesity treatment hinges on helping the patient shift to a healthier lifestyle in the context of their environment. For adolescents, this means taking into account their current health status and developmental stage in the context of family, peer, and societal influences. Parents play a pivotal role in helping adolescents negotiate the transition to adulthood, and their involvement is essential in obesity treatment. In this issue of Pediatrics , Bean et al,1 in a systematic review, identify how parents are included in adolescent obesity treatment and “which elements of parental involvement are positively associated with adolescent weight loss.” The studies they examine involve a wide range of intervention strategies that were designed to promote weight loss by addressing diet and exercise behaviors and included a parent component. In this review, the authors raise important questions for future study and highlight the lack of consistent and specific information about parental interventions in adolescent obesity treatment. The authors identify the need for research to further explore the specific role of parents in terms, their adherence to recommendations, and their own lifestyle behaviors and examine the association of parent and adolescent outcomes in longer and more diverse trials. They also note the need for future studies to examine the link between specific parental interventions and adolescent weight loss.1 In addition … Address correspondence to Sandra G. Hassink, MD, 2602 Pennington Dr, Wilmington, DE 19810. E-mail: shassink{at}aap.net