Obesity occurs within families, across generations. I believe the most effective treatment involves simultaneously targeting the parent and child for behavior change and weight loss. This has benefits for both the child and parent, with a strong correlation between child and parent (and sibling) weight change. This approach is also more cost-effective than treating the child and parent separately by different health care professionals.
A pediatrician can tell the parent, ‘don’t bring in junk food’ or ‘make sure your kid is not eating it,’ but if the parent is not changing, it’s going to be very difficult for the child. If the parent tells the child ‘don’t eat this ice cream,’ and they’re eating a chocolate bar, the kid is not going to follow.
Our family-based treatment program is based on kids mastering certain skills, like their ability to self-monitor their dietary intake and their activity levels, and to set goals and meet goals. There are also parenting goals: Praising the child for healthy eating. Praising the child for being more active. We do not want the parent to be the food police.
