Treatment of severe obesity in adolescents; a mixed method approach
type: CreativeWork
description: Adolescent obesity is a public health problem associated with significant immediate and long-term health complications (Kelly et al. 2013). Amongst obese adolescents, a third are severely obese (BMI >99.6th centile UK90 reference charts) (Ogden et al. 2012) with severe obesity the fastest growing classification in this age group (Wang et al. 2011). The evidence for managing and treating child and adolescent obesity generally is poor, with multidisciplinary lifestyle programmes failing to derive significant and sustained weight loss and often reporting high attrition (Luttikhuis et al. 2009). Furthermore, this evidence has predominantly focused on young people as a whole with little differentiation of treatment and outcomes by age and severity of obesity. As a result, successful treatments for severely obese adolescents are lacking with permanent bariatric surgery increasingly considered. This thesis aimed to enhance the understanding of the needs of obese adolescents, contribute to what is known about current treatment options for severely obese adolescents specifically and pilot a novel treatment approach within this population. A qualitative enquiry (Study 1) of the lived experiences of obese adolescents (n = 12) reinforced the complexity of the impact of obesity on the lives of obese adolescents across social, emotional, behavioural and cultural contexts. All participants experienced low self-esteem and feelings of shame and there were frequent accounts of debilitating bullying. Adolescents required intensive support to develop skills for coping and managing emotional choices, and the importance of family-support within treatment was highlighted. Data confirmed weight loss programmes need to consider the complex experience of obese adolescents in their design, focusing on how to implement long-term lifestyle changes into their ‘real’ lives. Informed by the findings from Study 1 and a comprehensive review of existing treatment options for severely obese adolescent…
abstract: Adolescent obesity is a public health problem associated with significant immediate and long-term health complications (Kelly et al. 2013). Amongst obese adolescents, a third are severely obese (BMI >99.6th centile UK90 reference charts) (Ogden et al. 2012) with severe obesity the fastest growing classification in this age group (Wang et al. 2011). The evidence for managing and treating child and adolescent obesity generally is poor, with multidisciplinary lifestyle programmes failing to derive significant and sustained weight loss and often reporting high attrition (Luttikhuis et al. 2009). Furthermore, this evidence has predominantly focused on young people as a whole with little differentiation of treatment and outcomes by age and severity of obesity. As a result, successful treatments for severely obese adolescents are lacking with permanent bariatric surgery increasingly considered. This thesis aimed to enhance the understanding of the needs of obese adolescents, contribute to what is known about current treatment options for severely obese adolescents specifically and pilot a novel treatment approach within this population. A qualitative enquiry (Study 1) of the lived experiences of obese adolescents (n = 12) reinforced the complexity of the impact of obesity on the lives of obese adolescents across social, emotional, behavioural and cultural contexts. All participants experienced low self-esteem and feelings of shame and there were frequent accounts of debilitating bullying. Adolescents required intensive support to develop skills for coping and managing emotional choices, and the importance of family-support within treatment was highlighted. Data confirmed weight loss programmes need to consider the complex experience of obese adolescents in their design, focusing on how to implement long-term lifestyle changes into their ‘real’ lives. Informed by the findings from Study 1 and a comprehensive review of existing treatment options for severely obese adolescent…
author: Reece, Lindsey
language: en
date published: 2016-06
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:31:06Z
provider: Sheffield Hallam University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Sheffield Hallam University