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TOPLINE:

About half of parents prescribed obesity-management medications discussed their treatment with their children, and nearly 75% reported open discussions about these medications at home. These conversations were more likely with older children, children with overweight, and families with healthy functioning.

METHODOLOGY:

• Weight-focused conversations can prompt dieting, disordered eating, and increased weight in children; however, there is limited research on parental discussion on using prescription medications for obesity with their children.
• This cross-sectional survey of 211 parents (mean age, 43.83 years; 79.8% women) examined parent-child communication about parental use of obesity-management medications.
• Parents were required to have at least one child aged 5-19 years (47.4% girls) living in the home for most of the week and answered questions for their oldest eligible child.
• A questionnaire asked parents about discussing their obesity medications, weight, and behavior changes with their child (six items), the child’s comments about their own weight/diet/activity (four items), whether the child heard others comment on the parent’s medication or weight change (four items), and reasons for not discussing medication.
• Family functioning was determined using the 12-item Family Assessment Device General Functioning subscale.

TAKEAWAY:

• Nearly three quarters of parents reported talking openly at home about their obesity medications (75.4%), and about half explicitly discussed with their child their decision to start medications (50.7%).
• The odds of open communication about medication rose with each additional year of the child’s age (odds ratio [OR], 1.10; P = .016). Parents in families with impaired functioning were less likely to discuss their decision to start obesity medications (OR, 0.32; P = .002).
• Children who asked about changes in their parents’ weight were more likely to comment on their own weight (OR, 2.70; P = .002), as were older children (OR for each unit increase in age, 1.13; P = .006) and children with overweight (OR, 3.58; P < .001).
• Children who asked about changes in their parents’ diet were much more likely to comment about their own diet (OR, 4.40; P < .001), as were children with overweight (OR, 2.03; P = .046); such comments were less likely in families with impaired functioning (OR, 0.42; P = .025).

IN PRACTICE:

“Greater focus on communication around OMM [obesity-management medication] use and healthy changes in the family may provide increased safety and positive effects to children, while supporting parents in long-term adherence to weight-management interventions,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Keeley J. Pratt, College of Education and Human Ecology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. It was published online as a Brief Cutting Edge Report in Obesity.

LIMITATIONS:

The study used a convenience sample that was homogeneous, limiting generalizability of the results. The study was limited to parental perspectives only. Additionally, it focused exclusively on the eldest child within the specified age range for each family.

DISCLOSURES:

No funding source was reported for the study, and the authors declared having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.