Parents attending an adult weight management programme, who were worried about their child’s weight, would accept support and signposting to services for their child if it was offered, new research led by the University of Bristol has found. The study is published in BMJ Paediatrics Open today [21 January].

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and supported by the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (Bristol BRC), suggests that children could be referred into weight management services through parents attending such services to address their own weight.

During the study, researchers conducted surveys and interviewed parents attending Slimming World (a UK-based commercial weight management programme for adults). They found that, out of those parents worried about their child’s weight, most (78%) were open to being offered support for their children.

Out of those parents interested in support for their child, nearly all (98%) were happy for the weight management programme to signpost them to relevant children’s services. The study team also found that almost half of parents not worried about their child’s weight were still interested in a height and weight check for their child.

Parents had different preferences in terms of the format and delivery of services they would potentially find helpful for their children. Avoiding a ‘one size fits all’ approach and offering individual support were important.

Parents were clear that support should focus on being healthy, rather than weight alone. They also suggested weekly sessions may be too frequent and wanted the fact that change takes time to be recognised. Many felt a parent ‘peer support’ group would be beneficial.

Dr Ruth Mears, Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Academic Primary Care and lead author, said: “Child weight management programmes should involve the family. However, recruiting families into these programmes can be challenging.

“Despite children having a higher risk of obesity if their parents are affected by obesity, adult weight management programmes don’t routinely link into child weight management services. This misses an opportunity to help children reach a healthier weight together with their family, at a time-point when the parent is already making changes to their own lifestyle.

“Our study supports the potential of a new referral pathway to child weight management programmes, through parents attending adult weight management programmes.”

Dr Sarah Bennett, Senior Research Associate at Slimming World, added: “At Slimming World, we understand the importance of family-focused weight management, and as such, while we don’t offer a weight management programme for children in our groups, we were delighted to collaborate with the University of Bristol’s NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and Centre for Academic Primary Care for this study.”