title: Exploring the perspectives of obese adolescent girls.
abstract: To understand obese adolescent girls' perspectives regarding their weight and health we studied video intervention/prevention assessment audiovisual narratives created by 14 obese girls ages 12 to 20 years. The narratives included interviews, monologues, and daily activities. Themes included illness conceptualizations, health concerns, health misinformation, and distress regarding appearance deriving from both within and without. The predominant theme was ambivalence about obesity. Close examination of these themes revealed potential footholds for intervention. Sensitive exploration of issues such as appearance and psychosocial distress might strengthen the patient-clinician partnership in identifying a patient's strengths and motivating weight loss.
authors.affiliation: 1Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sherman
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Bickham
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: adolescents / youth; behavior change; body image; health behavior; motivation; obesity / overweight; visual methods