Quality-of-life outcomes of a weight management program for adolescents based on motivational interviewing

Extended brief interventions for weight management and obesity prevention in children: A rapid evidence review

Uptake of child weight management (CWM) support is typically low, and services are not available in all areas. Extended brief interventions (EBIs) have been proposed as an affordable way to provide enhanced support, at a level between one-off brief advice and intensive CWM programs. This rapid systematic review sought to synthesize evidence on the efficacy of EBIs for weight management and obesity prevention in children (2-18 years). Embase and Web of Science were searched from January 2012 to January 2022. Nineteen studies, reporting on 17 separate EBIs, were included. The quality of studies was variable, and the EBIs were heterogeneous. The majority of EBIs (n = 14) were based on motivational interviewing. Five of the included studies reported significant improvements in parent or child determinants of health behavior change. However, robust measures of behavioral determinants were rarely used. No studies reported significant positive effects on child weight. No clear patterns in outcomes were identified. There is currently insufficient evidence for EBIs to be adopted as part of CWM services. To improve the evidence base, EBIs that are currently being implemented by local health services, should be evaluated to establish the most effective content, how it should be delivered, and by whom.

Motivational interviewing for the management of child and adolescent obesity: a systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

Among children or adolescents with obesity, 40-70.5% will remain obese as adults according to their paediatric body mass index (BMI). The recommended management involves changes in their nutritional habits (diet, physical activity, and sedentary lifestyle). Motivational interviewing (MI), a patient-centred consultation, has proven its worth in many fields where acting on behaviours is essential.

AIM

To investigate the use and outcomes of MI in the management of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese.

DESIGN & SETTING

A systematic review evaluated MI in the management of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese.

METHOD

PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CISMeF were searched between January 2022 and March 2022 for following terms: 'motivational interviewing', 'overweight or obesity', 'children or adolescent' to identify randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Inclusion criteria were interventions involving MI in children or adolescents who were commonly (polygenically) overweight or obese. Exclusion criteria were: studies before 1991; and articles not written in English or French. The first stage of the selection process was carried out by reading the titles and abstracts. A second stage was carried out by reading the complete studies. A secondary inclusion of articles was carried out following the reading of bibliographic references, mainly from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The data were summarised in synthetic tables based on the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study (PICOS) tool.

RESULTS

From 444 articles the review identified 26 RCTs. Statistically significant results were found for all criteria (anthropometric and behavourial) in both children and adolescents. Quality of life and depression scores were also improved. Parental presence in the interview appeared to be essential for children, whereas for adolescents, the supportive involvement of parents outside of the interviews seemed more appropriate. The frequency and duration of the interventions played a major role in obtaining results, as did the number of people involved, and the diversity of the places where they are taken care of.

CONCLUSION

MI seems promising for children and adolescents with overweight or obesity, within the framework of a comprehensive, multiprofessional, family management, carried out over a long period with regular consultations.

Can chatbots help to motivate smoking cessation? A study on the effectiveness of motivational interviewing on engagement and therapeutic alliance

Background

Cigarette smoking poses a major threat to public health. While cessation support provided by healthcare professionals is effective, its use remains low. Chatbots have the potential to serve as a useful addition. The objective of this study is to explore the possibility of using a motivational interviewing style chatbot to enhance engagement, therapeutic alliance, and perceived empathy in the context of smoking cessation.

Methods

A preregistered web-based experiment was conducted in which smokers (n = 153) were randomly assigned to either the motivational interviewing (MI)-style chatbot condition (n = 78) or the neutral chatbot condition (n = 75) and interacted with the chatbot in two sessions. In the assessment session, typical intake questions in smoking cessation interventions were administered by the chatbot, such as smoking history, nicotine dependence level, and intention to quit. In the feedback session, the chatbot provided personalized normative feedback and discussed with participants potential reasons to quit. Engagement with the chatbot, therapeutic alliance, and perceived empathy were the primary outcomes and were assessed after both sessions. Secondary outcomes were motivation to quit and perceived communication competence and were assessed after the two sessions.

Results

No significant effects of the experimental manipulation (MI-style or neutral chatbot) were found on engagement, therapeutic alliance, or perceived empathy. A significant increase in therapeutic alliance over two sessions emerged in both conditions, with participants reporting significantly increased motivation to quit. The chatbot was perceived as highly competent, and communication competence was positively associated with engagement, therapeutic alliance, and perceived empathy.

Conclusion

The results of this preregistered study suggest that talking with a chatbot about smoking cessation can help to motivate smokers to quit and that the effect of conversation has the potential to build up over time. We did not find support for an extra motivating effect of the MI-style chatbot, for which we discuss possible reasons. These findings highlight the promise of using chatbots to motivate smoking cessation. Implications for future research are discussed.

Motivating Children and Adolescents in Obesity Treatment

Enhancing motivation is a crucial issue in pediatric obesity interventions, as behavioral changes related to food intake and physical exercise are difficult to carry out with an insufficient level of motivation. In the treatment setting, low motivation towards change may lead to early termination or inadequate treatment outcomes. This paper reviews widely-used models of motivation, including the transtheoretical model of change, self-determination theory, and motivational interviewing (MI). We introduce useful strategies based on each theoretical model to enhance motivation, such as an importance and confidence scale and a decisional balance technique. A review of recent MI interventions in children and adolescents is presented to discuss the efficacy of MI-based interventions and considerations for applying MI in pediatric obesity.

Impact of intervention on nutritional status, consumption of processed foods, and quality of life of adolescents with excess weight

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of a nutritional intervention on nutritional status, ultra-processed food consumption, and quality of life of adolescents with excess weight.

METHODS

Experimental study with adolescent students with excess weight, divided into two groups, an intervention group and a control group. The nutritional intervention lasted six months, with an educational and motivational approach. Nutritional status (waist circumference and body mass index), quality of life, and ultra-processed food consumption were evaluated before and after the period.

RESULTS

Sixty-two adolescents with overweight or obesity participated in the study, 37 in the intervention group and 25 in the control group, aged 13.2±1.5 years in intervention group, and 13.0±1.8 years in control group, both of which had a higher female participation. There were changes in the body mass index (intervention group Δ: -0.81±2.28, control group Δ: -0.64±1.28) and in the waist circumference for intervention group (Δ:-3.31±5.47). For the pre- and post-ultra-processed food consumption, there was a significant reduction in the consumption of soft drinks in the intervention group (Δ: -0.07 [-0.27 to 0.00]), instant noodles (Δ: -0.03 [-0.07 to 0.00]), and sandwich cookies (Δ: -0.06 [-0.26 to 0.00]). The quality of life increased in the intervention group and decreased in the control group, with no intra- (p=0.162) or intergroup statistical relevance in the pre- (p=0.426) and post- (0.249) intervention period, with a reduction in the emotional domain score, with a significant variation in the intervention group (pre and post; Δ: -19.0±40.6).

CONCLUSION

There was a decrease in body mass index and waist circumference (central obesity being more often related to insulin resistance), reduction of ultra-processed food consumption (soft drinks, sandwich cookies, and instant noodles), and a tendency toward quality of life improvement (however, there was a decrease in the domains of emotional and school quality of life).