Treatment Preferences of Overweight Youth and Their Parents in Western Canada

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the family environment and assess treatment preferences among overweight youth and their parents. Data were collected via 41 interviews with parents and children from the wait-list of a weight management clinic and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Framed around an ecological framework, findings ranged from proximal family issues to more distal policy issues. At the family level, parents attempted to influence their children's lifestyle behaviors by using contradictory and inconsistent strategies that reflected extremes of leniency and control. There was resistance to reducing screen time because participants thought that it was important for the children's social lives. Participants desired better help from health care professionals, requested family-centered treatment, expressed a desire for increased social support, and needed policy/ program-level changes to assist their weight management efforts. These findings offer insight into the complexity of individual, familial, and environmental factors that impact both behavior change and health services delivery in pediatric weight management.