Parenting Intervention for Pediatric Obesity

The purpose of this study is to see if educational videos about how to help children develop healthy behaviors, paired with treatment in a pediatric obesity clinic, can increase caregiver confidence and improve child behaviors and weight. Caregivers of children between the ages of 4 and 11 years old who are new patients to a pediatric obesity clinic will be invited to take part in the study. All families will receive the standard treatment provided in the pediatric obesity clinic. Half of the caregivers will be assigned to also watch a few educational videos every month for 3 months in between clinic visits.

Brief online videos, featuring families of children with obesity of diverse backgrounds, to provide education on parenting skills and motivate families to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors as a family. Videos will be delivered monthly for three months in between pediatric obesity clinic visits.

Standard treatment in a hospital-based pediatric obesity clinic with a team of medical providers, dietitians, exercise specialists, and behavioral health specialists. Treatment includes management of obesity-related medical conditions, nutrition education, physical activity counseling, and discussion of behavioral strategies such as goal-setting and self-monitoring, with elements of motivational interviewing used to encourage behavior change and adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors by the entire family.

Inclusion Criteria: Legal guardian of a new patient to the Nemours pediatric obesity clinic Child with body mass index (BMI) greater than the 95th percentile for age and sex Child 4-11 years of age Exclusion Criteria: Not proficient in English or Spanish Not able to access the internet on any type of device Child has a genetic syndrome or primary endocrine disorder associated with obesity Child is taking a medication known to impact weight