Psychosocial functioning and its impact on implementing behavioral interventions for childhood obesity

Obesity is dramatically increasing among children and adolescents; therefore, it is essential to identify and understand barriers to treatment and develop interventions that are effective for youth and their families. In the field of pediatrics, psychosocial functioning of children and their families has consistently been identified as a potential barrier to implementing treatment recommendations. The psychosocial functioning of overweight and obese youth is reviewed and the extent to which different factors (e.g., depression, peer difficulties) can be barriers to obesity treatment is discussed. Behavioral group-based and individual/family-based (i.e., motivational interviewing) interventions strategies are presented, and implementation of these strategies within a pediatric care visit are described.