Importance of parent-child interaction in obese children and adolescents

S. Schröder, K. Kromeyer-Hauschild, Jena

Alarming prevalence rates of obesity in children and adolescents require an early intervention involving the parents. Although overweight parents are a main risk factor for overweight in children and adolescents, little attention has been paid to their influence. Parents, on the one hand, transmit their genes to the children, and, on the other, largely influence the family’s lifestyle.

The present paper shows that normal weight and overweight parents handle weight problems of their children in different way: normal weight parents’ children have more difficulties to tackle the problem than children with at least one overweight parent. Prevention and therapy should involve parents to improve communication within the family and to increase the parents’ influence to solve the weight problem of their children.

Key words: adolescence, childhood, family, obesity, parents, parent-child interaction, prevention, therapy

Sie finden den Artikel in deutscher Sprache in Ernährungs-Umschau 02/07 ab Seite 64.