Designing and Testing the Feasibility of a Multi-level Intervention to Treat Adolescent Obesity in the Pediatric...

To describe the development steps and feasibility test of a multi-level adolescent obesity intervention for delivery in pediatric primary care settings.

To understand the target setting and population (i.e., perceptions of and receptivity to various intervention components), focus groups were conducted with clinicians, adolescents, and parents (N=58). Findings informed the development of a multi-level intervention (i.e., office support systems, brief clinician-delivered counseling, and nutritionist-led adolescent group sessions) targeting overweight and obese adolescents (N=22). The intervention was pilot-tested for feasibility using a single group pre- and post-test comparison.

Families and clinicians agreed on the importance of developing approaches to address adolescent obesity in the pediatric primary care setting, and favored family involvement. The pilot-study showed that it was feasible to implement office system changes to support obesity treatment. All but one component of the clinician- delivered counseling algorithm were feasible. Adolescents participating in the intervention reported dietary improvements and movement toward the action stage for decreasing sedentary behavior.

Multi-level interventions for adolescent obesity in the pediatric primary care setting are feasible. Research to test the effectiveness of such interventions is warranted.