There is an urgent need for innovative approaches to obesity prevention and treatment, particularly among African Americans (AA), a population at increased risk of obesity and its associated morbidity and mortality. Research and clinical practice guidelines consistently recommend that parents should be included in their children's obesity treatment, yet the most effective strategy to engage parents in adolescent obesity treatment is unclear. The adolescent period presents substantial challenges to family-based care, as youth experience increased desire for independence and autonomy, contributing to resistance to authority figures; yet they still rely on parents for many needs. Given these challenges, it is not surprising that research investigating specific clinical paradigms for involvng parents in adolescent obesity treatments is inconsistent. To that end, the current application pilots two distinct approaches for involving parents in their adolescents' obesity treatment. TEENS (Teaching, Encouragement, Exercise, Nutrition, Support) is a family-based, multidisciplinary behavioral treatment program targeting primarily AA, obese adolescents. This investigative team previously demonstrated that participation in the TEENS intervention is associated with significant reductions in body mass index (BMI) at 6 months. In TEENS, parents were included in monthly groups to support their adolescent's weight management. Although parent weight was not targeted, a significant correlation between parent and adolescent BMI change was found. These findings highlight the importance of parental involvement and suggest that parent weight management might be an important intervention target. Indeed, directly targeting parent weight loss within adolescent treatment might be associated with even greater adolescent BMI reductions, as parents engaged in concurrent weight management might make greater changes to the shared environment and serve as powerful role models, given their common goals. Towards that end and building on our previous work, we developed TEENS+, a family-based adolescent obesity intervention. This application proposes a randomized controlled pilot to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of two parent treatments within TEENS+ among 96 overweight or obese adolescents (BMI>85th percentile) and parent(s) (BMI>25 kg/m2). Families will be randomized to one of two 4-month treatments: 1) TEENS+Parents as Coaches (PAC), engaging parents as helpers in their child's weight management, or 2) TEENS+Parent Weight Loss (PWL), engaging parents in their own weight management. All adolescents will participate in the TEENS+ protocol, which includes nutrition education with dietary goals, supervised physical activity, and behavioral support, and integrates motivational interviewing to enhance treatment engagement. Assessments will be completed at 0, 4, and 7 months. Results of this investigation will inform a subsequent larger trial investigating the role of parents in adolescent obesity treatment, targeting predominately African American families.
; Although family-based lifestyle modification treatment programs (including a healthy diet and regular physical activity) are considered the mainstay of treatment for pediatric obesity, the most effective strategy for involving parents in their adolescent's treatment remains unclear, particularly among predominately lower income, African American families. This research examines the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of two distinct parent engagement strategies implemented within a behavioral adolescent obesity treatment. Results of this investigation will inform a subsequent larger trial investigating the role of parens in adolescent obesity treatment, and thus has the potential to significantly inform the standard of care for family-based treatment of adolescent obesity.
| Brayboy, Lynae M; Knapik, Laura O; Long, Sokunvichet et al. (2018) Ovarian hormones modulate multidrug resistance transporters in the ovary. Contracept Reprod Med 3:26 |
