title: Predicting health-related quality of life from the psychosocial profiles of youth seeking treatment for obesity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify, in a sample of youth seeking treatment for obesity, subgroups of youth characterized by distinct profiles of psychosocial functioning and to examine whether psychosocial subgroup membership predicted treatment outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline psychosocial profiles identified using cluster analysis techniques were used to predict treatment outcomes (i.e., health-related quality of life, BMI z scores). Participants were 92 youths seeking treatment for obesity (mean age = 11.6 years, mean body mass index for age and sex = 30.5) and their caregivers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three distinct psychosocial profile subgroups were identified. Subgroups with higher levels of psychosocial problems had poorer health-related quality of life outcomes posttreatment and at 12-month follow-up. Subgroup membership did not predict weight outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Youth seeking weight management treatment may present with patterns of psychosocial difficulties with implications for treatment outcomes. Weight treatment interventions should be tailored to meet the needs of youth with higher levels of psychosocial problems.
authors.affiliation: *Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Center for Adherence and Self-Management, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH; †Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
authors.forename: Yelena P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ric G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Steele
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D061217:Weight Reduction Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data