Parents’ journey through treatment for their child’s obesity: a qualitative study

Treatment for childhood obesity is characterised by patient non-attendance and drop-out, and widespread failure to achieve weight maintenance. This study aimed to provide insight into the perceptions of parents of obese children as they 'journey' from pre-treatment to end of treatment.The researchers used purposive sampling and studied 17 parents of children attending 6-month outpatient treatments for obesity. Parents were characterised as being unaware of their child's weight, in denial, or actively seeking treatment. Parents were consistently motivated to enter treatment due to perceived benefits to their child's self esteem or quality of life, and weight outcomes appeared typically less important. During treatment parents expressed a lack of support for lifestyle changes outside the clinic, and noted that members of the extended family often undermined or failed to support lifestyle changes. Parents generally felt that treatment should have continued beyond six months, and it had provided benefits to their child's well-being, self esteem, and quality of life, and this is what motivated many to remain engaged with treatment. Discussion: This study may help inform future treatments for childhood obesity by providing insights into the aspects of treatment of greatest importance to parents. Future treatments may need to consider providing greater support to lifestyle changes within the extended family, and may need to focus more on psycho-social outcomes.