The Participation of a Brazilian Family in Psychosocial Counseling of Obese Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Regarded by the World Health Organization as a public health matter, an analysis of the statistics shows a significant increase of obesity in children, adolescents, and adults in many parts of the world. Family inclusion in childhood obesity treatment has been recommended in many scientific studies, and an intervention including families presupposes knowledge of their dynamics and influence on disease onset and maintenance. In this sense, the present work aims to present data of research with one family that is part of psychosocial counseling of families with obese children and adolescents. The sample family is composed of the father, 43 years old, the mother, 36, and their obese daughter, 10, currently weighing 178 pounds and 1.25 meters in height. The data were collected through an interview focusing on the family life cycle, from the new couple stage through the present. Data analysis revealed that the following features interfere with child obesity treatment: parental omission in the daughter's diet; the mother's illness complicating fulfillment of parental functions; parents' marital difficulties; lack of marital harmony between parents endangering their complicity in the child's protection and education; and family resistance in accepting and adhering to child obesity treatment. The data reinforce the need for understanding dynamics of families with obese children and for family inclusion in childhood obesity treatment.