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. 2018 Nov 21;18(1):364.
doi: 10.1186/s12887-018-1333-2.

Motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity: a systematic review

David Franciole Oliveira Silva  1 , Karine Cavalcanti Maurício Sena-Evangelista  2 , Clélia Oliveira Lyra  2 , Lucia Fátima Campos Pedrosa  2 , Ricardo Fernando Arrais  3 , Severina Carla Vieira Cunha Lima  4
Affiliations

Motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity: a systematic review

David Franciole Oliveira Silva et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Adolescents with overweight and obesity report various motivations for weight loss other than the desire for better health. However, there is little evidence regarding the main motivations for weight loss in adolescents. The present systematic review aimed to identify the motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity.

Methods: A systematic search for original articles published up to December 2016 was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, and ADOLEC databases. The terms used in the search were: motivation, motive, reason, "weight loss," "lose weight," and adolescent.

Results: Six studies (all cross-sectional) met the selection criteria and were included in the review. The instruments used to assess the participants' motivations for weight loss were interviews and questionnaires with open questions. Seventeen motivations for weight loss were identified, the main ones being better health, esthetic/cosmetic reasons, improvements in self-esteem, and avoidance of provocation/bullying.

Conclusions: The results of the present review show the need for validated instruments to assess the motivations for weight loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity. Moreover, the high frequency of motivations for weight loss related to appearance and social acceptance evidences the need for multidisciplinary weight loss interventions that consider not only the biological factors, but also the psychological and social aspects.

Keywords: Adolescent; Motivation; Obesity; Review; Weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

DFOS – Postgraduate Program in Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; KCMSE – Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; COL – Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; LFCP – Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; RFA – Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; SCVCL – Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA) flowchart for selection of studies
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Motivations for weight loss among studies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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