Parents' comments to teens about weight gain ups binge eating risk

Overweight teenagers who were spoken to by their parents about their weight are likelier to engage in binge eating and use unhealthy weight-control behaviours, a new research has suggested.

Ashley Barrient, MEd, LPC, RD, LDN, dietician and bariatric counselor at Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care, said that kids are overwhelmed by talk of weight and dieting and feel they cannot change the numbers.

She said that if parents talk with the teens about the whole family making healthy eating changes as a team, they feel supported and positive change happens more frequently.

Barrient said that that kids usually view their family and home as a safe environment and discussion of weight by their parents is threatening and viewed as criticism.

She said that no one likes to feel judged and criticized and by addressing the family as a group, everyone makes positive changes.

The study has been published in JAMA Pediatrics.