Preventing obesity and eating disorders in adolescents: what can health care providers do?

Full Abstract

This article describes five research-based recommendations for health care providers to help prevent both obesity and eating disorders among adolescents that they see within clinical, school, or other settings. The recommendations are based primarily upon findings from Project EAT, a large, population-based study of eating and weight-related issues in adolescents. Recommendations include the following: 1) discourage unhealthy dieting; instead encourage and support the use of eating and physical activity behaviors that can be maintained on an ongoing basis; 2) promote a positive body image; 3) encourage more frequent, and more enjoyable, family meals; 4) Encourage families to talk less about weight and do more at home to facilitate healthy eating and physical activity; and 5) assume that overweight teens have experienced weight mistreatment and address this issue with teens and their families. These recommendations stress the importance of helping adolescents and their families focus less on weight and more on sustained behavioral change.

Author information

Author/s: Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne (D);

Affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, USA. Neumark(-atsign-)epi.umn.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine (J Adolesc Health), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Mar; vol 44 (issue 3) : pp 206-13

Dates: Created 2009/02/24; Completed 2009/06/22;

PMID: 19237105, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 6/22/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adolescent
Eating Disorders - prevention & control
Health Personnel
Health Planning Guidelines

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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