B. D. Hughes1, C. B. Cummins1, O. Nunez-Lopez1, J. Prochaska2, E. Lyons3, D. Jupiter2, K. Perino3, A. Glaser4, R. S. Radhakrishnan1,4, K. D. Bowen-Jallow1 1University Of Texas Medical Branch,Division Of Surgery,Galveston, TX, USA 2University Of Texas Medical Branch,Preventive Medicine And Community Health,Galveston, TX, USA 3University Of Texas Medical Branch,Department Of Nutrition And Metabolism,Galveston, TX, USA 4University Of Texas Medical Branch,Department Of Pediatrics,Galveston, TX, USA
Introduction:
Pediatric obesity is a major public health concern. Severe obesity affects approximately 6.8% of adolescents in the U.S. This subgroup has been ascertained to be the most rapidly growing of those diagnosed with obesity. Efforts to prevent and eliminate obesity have highlighted the importance of parental engagement. There is evidence linking parents’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior with childhood obesity.
Methods:
Parents and obese adolescents are evaluated in our multidisciplinary clinic for an intensive weight reduction program. After the initial clinic visit, subsequent visits are planned for every 4-6 weeks. During the initial visit and every 3 months thereafter, the parents and participants are independently administered a 57 and 64 question survey created by our research team, respectively. This study focuses on parental engagement based on questions selected from the survey which had an emphasis on self-perception, goal-setting, individual effort, and utilization of technology for weight reduction.
Results:
Of the categories selected, the differences between the obese adolescents and their caretakers are reported. The main stem of each question is the same: only words to appropriately address the cohorts as either caretakers or adolescents were modified. The percentage difference between categorical responses of participants is provided, as well as the number of participants who answered ‘yes’ to the question, with its’ associated percentage (adolescent versus parents, respectively): Self-perception: 4% (40[44%] vs. 36 [40%]); Goal-
Setting: 28% (38[73%] vs. 24 [45%]); Individual Effort: 10% (26[29%] vs. 17[19%]); Utilization of technology: 2% (19 [21%] vs. 17 [19%]).
Conclusion:
Parental engagement is imperative for weight reduction efforts in obese youth. Programs aimed at weight reduction should incorporate methods to survey parents and obese participants. In this study we found parents’ knowledge of self-perception, individual efforts, and utilization of technology to align with responses from the obese youth participants. An area of discordance was related to goal setting and may signify a barrier to weight loss. Goal setting could represent an area of potential impact as interventions advance in the curriculum. Comparison data between the initial visit and planned subsequent visits are necessary to validate these findings.