Experiences of Adolescent Weight Management: the Perspectives of Primary Health Care Professionals, Adolescents and Parents

Abstract

Introduction In the last 20 years, compared to other European countries, England has shown the steepest rise in, and now has the highest rates of, obesity in Europe. The rise in childhood obesity has been of particular concern, and it has been suggested that health care professionals (HCPs) like GPs and nurses have a role to play in helping children and families manage obesity. Little is known about HCPs experiences of providing weight management advice to adolescents in the UK, and no studies have explored the experiences of all the parties involved: HCPs, adolescents and parents. Aim The overarching aim of the research was to identify barriers and facilitators to general practice based weight management for adolescents Method The research presented here comprises 4 studies. Study 1 consisted of a survey investigating the attitudes and practices regarding adolescent weight management of GPs and practice nurses working in general practices in two English counties. This was followed in study 2 by in depth faceto- face interviews with a subsample of HCPs. In study 3, adolescents and parents were interviewed, and study 4 consisted of a survey of young people’s perceived barriers and help seeking intentions regarding weight management. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).