One in four Australian adolescents is overweight or obese, and prevalence rates in this age group have continued to increase in recent years, especially in more socially disadvantaged groups. In addition, rates of severe or morbid obesity in adolescence have more than doubled in the past two decades. Obesity in adolescence is often complicated by psychosocial distress and associated with a range of other health problems.
For all these reasons, effective prevention and treatment of obesity in adolescence should be a major priority. However, the evidence base for interventions in this age group is more limited than for other parts of the life-course, and there are specific challenges in undertaking research with, and delivering interventions to, adolescents. Further, despite its simplistic appeal, merely delivering interventions designed originally for younger children or for adults is likely to be a failure.
Physiological maturation from early-/mid-puberty to post-puberty makes interpretation of changes in anthropometry, body composition and hormonal (insulin, reproductive hormones) levels difficult. The increased nutrient requirements of adolescence (e.g. iron, calcium, zinc) must also be factored into any dietary prescriptions/ recommendations for caloric restriction.
The major psychological and social changes in this age group mean that recruitment and engagement of young people and their families (where appropriate) in intervention programs is difficult. The rapidly changing nature of e-communication and social media use, and the pervasive presence of innovative forms of marketing at this life-stage, also pose implications for intervention delivery to an audience used to sophisticated communication strategies. The increased mobility of older adolescents especially may also mean they have difficulty accessing and using intervention programs.
A further consideration is the importance of designing and delivering interventions in adolescents that promote healthy eating and activity behaviours and promote positive body image, taking into account the ubiquitous background exposure to negative messages about body image.