title: Treatment of obesity in children: Parent's perceived emotional barriers as predictor of change in body fat.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Research supports the use of family-based interventions in the treatment of obesity in children, but there is a lack of knowledge about what factors affect parents' ability to carry out the lifestyle changes necessary to reduce their child's obesity. The aim of the present study was to examine whether parents' self-efficacy, perceived emotional barriers, subjective norms, and attitudes could predict change in their children's body fat at 6 month and 2 year follow-ups after a family-based treatment of obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Body Mass Index Standard Deviation Scores (BMI SDS) were calculated and body fat (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) were measured in 99 treatment-seeking children with obesity (ages 7-12; 48 girls, 51 boys; mean BMI SDS = 2.99) at baseline, after 6 month and after 2 year follow-up. Parental cognitions regarding diet and physical activity were examined by parent-completed questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test whether the selected health cognitions could predict treatment outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parental perceived emotional barriers was a significant predictor of change in body fat at 6 month (β = -.32, p = .001) and 2 year (β = -.38, p = .002) follow-up when the initial body fat values were controlled. Self-efficacy, subjective norms and attitudes did not improve the amount of variance explained.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents' perceived emotional barriers significantly predict change in total body fat in children treated for obesity. In order to increase treatment-efficacy, perceived emotional barriers should be addressed.
authors: Dept. of Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry, St. Olavs Hospital, Olav Kyrres gt 17, 7030 Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address:silje.steinsbekk@svt.ntnu.no.
authors: Silje
authors: S
authors: Steinsbekk
authors: Dept. of Laboratory Medicine, Children's and Women's Health, 7433 Trondheim, Norway.
authors: Rønnaug
authors: R
authors: Odegård
authors: Dept. of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Dragvoll, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Wichstrøm