ESPE Abstracts (2022) 95 P1-67

ESPE2022 Poster Category 1 Fat, Metabolism and Obesity (73 abstracts)

Effect of unawareness of obesity on perceptions of obesity and food/diet among adolescents living with obesity and their caregivers: subanalysis from the ACTION Teens global study

Abdullah Bereket 1 , Louise A. Baur 2 , Bassam Bin-Abbas 3 , Walter Chen 4 , Fernando Fernández-Aranda 5 , Nayely Garibay Nieto 6 , Jason C.G. Halford 7 , Juan Pedro López Siguero 8 , Claudio Maffeis 9 , Vicki Mooney 10 , Cynthia Karenina Osorto 11 , Ricardo Reynoso 12 , Young-Jun Rhie 13 & Martín Toro-Ramos 14


1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey; 2Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; 3Department of Paediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Children’s Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL and CIBEROBN, Barcelona, Spain; 6Pediatric Obesity Clinic and Wellness Unit, Hospital General de México “Dr. Eduardo Liceaga”, Mexico City, Mexico; 7School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom; 8Pediatric Endocrinology Unit, Regional University Hospital, Málaga, Spain; 9Department of Surgery, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; 10The European Coalition for People Living with Obesity (EASO ECPO), Dublin, Ireland; 11Novo Nordisk A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark; 12Novo Nordisk Health Care AG, Zürich, Switzerland; 13Department of Pediatrics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of South Korea; 14IPS Universitaria – Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia


Background: This subanalysis of the ACTION Teens study aimed to explore perceptions of obesity and food/diet among adolescents living with obesity (ALwO) and caregivers of ALwO (CGs) who were unaware of their/their child’s obesity.

Methods: The global, cross-sectional ACTION Teens survey study (NCT05013359) assessed perceptions, attitudes and behaviours among 5275 ALwO (aged 12–<18 years), 5389 CGs and 2323 healthcare professionals who treat ALwO. ALwO and CGs were categorised based on their perception of their/their child’s weight: believes weight is normal/below normal = ‘obesity-unaware’; believes weight is slightly/a lot/extremely above normal = ‘obesity-aware’. Proportions were compared with a Z-test; # indicates significant difference (P<0.05).

Results: In total, 24% of ALwO were obesity-unaware; among ALwO with obesity class I, II or III, 26%, 14% and 27% were obesity-unaware, respectively (obesity class I vs class II#; obesity class II vs class III#). Only 12% of ALwO who were obesity-unaware received an obesity diagnosis from their doctor, compared with 54%# of obesity-aware ALwO. Fewer ALwO who were obesity-unaware were highly motivated to lose weight than those who were obesity-aware (29 vs 50%#). Obesity-unaware ALwO more often agreed that they have a healthy relationship with food (60 vs 29%#) and less often agreed that they eat food for comfort (41 vs 61%#) than obesity-aware ALwO. Overall, 34% of CGs were unaware that their ALwO had obesity; among CGs with ALwO with obesity class I, II or III, 39%, 20% and 36% were obesity-unaware, respectively (obesity class I vs class II#; obesity class II vs class III#). More CGs who were obesity-unaware thought that their child would slim down naturally as they age than those who were obesity-aware (54 vs 41%#). Conversely, compared with obesity-unaware CGs, those who were aware of their ALwO’s obesity more often agreed that their child could lose weight if they set their mind to it (57 vs 73%#) and that their child is highly motivated to lose weight (25 vs 44%#). Obesity-unaware CGs more often agreed that they themselves have a healthy relationship with food than obesity-aware CGs (63 vs 49%#).

Conclusions: A subset of both ALwO and CGs were obesity-unaware. ALwO who were obesity-aware appeared more motivated to lose weight but had a poorer relationship with food than obesity-unaware ALwO. Among CGs, the perception that ALwO will lose weight naturally over time was more common when CGs were obesity-unaware.

Volume 95

60th Annual ESPE (ESPE 2022)

Rome, Italy
15 Sep 2022 - 17 Sep 2022

European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology 

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