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Physician weight counseling for adolescents
Brian E Saelens1, Elissa Jelalian, Danielle M Kukene
1University of Cincinnati College of Medicine & Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, OH 45229, USA.
Clinical Pediatrics
|October 31, 2002
Summary
Physicians counsel overweight youth about weight more often than non-overweight youth. However, specific weight loss recommendations do not increase adolescent attempts at weight management.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Adolescent Medicine
Background:
- Rising adolescent obesity rates necessitate understanding physician counseling practices.
- Limited research exists on physician weight counseling specifically for adolescents.
- Physician weight counseling is a crucial, yet understudied, area in adolescent healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate adolescents' perceptions of physician weight counseling.
- To explore factors influencing physician counseling frequency and adolescent receptivity.
- To assess the impact of counseling on adolescent weight loss attempts.
Main Methods:
- Survey of 110 adolescents regarding their experiences with physician weight counseling.
- Analysis of counseling frequency based on body mass index (BMI) percentiles.
- Examination of correlations between prior counseling, ethnicity, perceived physician concern, and adolescent receptivity.
Main Results:
- Overweight adolescents (≥85th BMI percentile) reported more counseling than non-overweight peers.
- Obese adolescents (≥95th BMI percentile) received counseling more frequently than overweight (85th-94th BMI percentile) adolescents.
- Prior counseling and ethnicity influenced perceived physician concern and adolescent receptivity to future counseling.
Conclusions:
- Physician weight counseling is more common in overweight and obese adolescents.
- Adolescent ethnicity and prior counseling impact their perception of physician concern and willingness to engage in future counseling.
- Current weight loss recommendations do not significantly increase adolescent attempts at specific weight control behaviors.