Family Dynamics and Pediatric Weight Management: Putting the Family into Family-Based Treatment.

Purpose of Review: The treatment of pediatric obesity entails working with entire families. However, aside from parenting and family health behaviors, family dynamics and relationships are not often incorporated in clinical treatment of obesity.
Recent Findings: Evidence across several studies suggest a relationship between family dynamics and child weight, with impaired family dynamics associated with higher weight status in children. Evidence is mixed if child age and family function are associated. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that addressing family dynamics (i.e., relationships and overall family system) will improve weight in children with obesity. Notably, few studies target family dynamics specifically. There are several validated measures of family dynamics available for researchers to explore the family system as it relates to child health and behaviors. A deeper understanding of family dynamics and relationships may provide new avenues to address issues of weight in children; accounting for the family, and their underlying functioning, may benefit the clinician and child engaged in weight management.