Parenting an Overweight or Obese Teen: Issues and Advice from Parents

Overview

Journal J Nutr Educ Behav

Publisher Elsevier

Date 2012 Jul 10

PMID 22770833

Citations 9

Authors

Kerri N Boutelle

Shira Feldman

Dianne Neumark-Sztainer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: This qualitative study addresses: (1) what challenges parents of overweight adolescents face and (2) what advice parents of overweight adolescents have for other parents.

Design: One-on-one interviews were conducted with parents of overweight or previously overweight adolescents.

Setting: Medical clinic at the University of Minnesota.

Participants: Twenty-seven parents of adolescents (12-19 years) who were either currently or previously overweight recruited from the community.

Main Outcome Measures: Qualitative interviews related to parenting overweight adolescents.

Analysis: Content analysis was used to identify themes regarding parental experiences.

Results: Issues most frequently mentioned were (1) uncertainty regarding effective communication with adolescent about weight-related topics; (2) inability to control adolescents' decisions related to healthful eating and activity behaviors; (3) concern for adolescents' well-being; and (4) parental feeling of responsibility/guilt. Parental advice most often provided included: (1) setting up a healthful home environment; (2) parental role modeling of healthful behaviors; and (3) providing support/encouragement for positive efforts.

Conclusions And Implications: Topics for potential intervention development include communication and motivation of adolescents regarding weight-related topics, appropriate autonomy, and addressing negative emotions concerning the adolescent's weight status. Targeting these topics could potentially improve acceptability and outcomes for treatments.

Citing Articles

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Frequent Medical Supervision Increases the Effectiveness of a Longitudinal Multidisciplinary Body Weight Reduction Program: A Real-World Experience in a Population of Children and Adolescents with Obesity.

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African American Adolescent-Caregiver Relationships in a Weight Loss Trial.

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Attitudes of Jordanian Adolescent Students Toward Overweight and Obesity.

Abu Baker N, Al-Ali N, Al-Ajlouni R Open Nurs J. 2018; 12:15-25.

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