Insights from the ACTION Teens Study: a survey of adolescents living with obesity, their caregivers and healthcare professionals in the UK.

Objectives: The Awareness, Care and Treatment In Obesity maNagement (ACTION) Teens study explored attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and barriers regarding effective obesity care among adolescents living with obesity (ALwO), caregivers and healthcare professionals (HCPs).
Design: Cross-sectional online survey study.
Setting: Study across 10 countries; here, we report data from UK respondents.
Participants: Overall, 416 ALwO (aged 12 to <18 years; body mass index ≥95th percentile for age and sex (WHO charts)), 498 caregivers and 250 HCPs in the UK completed the survey (August-December 2021).
Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Survey questions addressed key aspects of obesity management for ALwO.
Results: Overall, 46% of ALwO perceived their weight as normal or below normal and 86% believed their health was at least good; 56% and 93% of caregivers responded similarly for their ALwO. Despite this, most ALwO (57%) had attempted to lose weight in the past year and 34% felt highly motivated to lose weight. YouTube and social media were most often used by ALwO for information about weight management (41% and 39%); few ALwO and caregivers sought information from a doctor (13% and 22%). Among ALwO who had discussed weight with an HCP (n=122), 49% trusted their weight-management advice. Only 10% of ALwO and 8% of caregivers were told by a doctor that they/their child had obesity. For HCPs, obesity-related comorbidities were the most common reason for initiating weight conversations with ALwO (73%), while short appointment times were the most common barrier (46%). Overall, 30% of ALwO and 11% of caregivers did not feel comfortable bringing up weight with an HCP.
Conclusions: Improved education and communication are needed among ALwO, caregivers and HCPs in the UK to help improve awareness of obesity, its aetiology and its impact on health, and to support HCPs to proactively initiate weight-related conversations and build trust with ALwO and caregivers.
Trial Registration Number: NCT05013359.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: JCGH reports consultancy fees from Novo Nordisk for his role as a member of the ACTION Teens Steering Committee during the conduct of the study, consultancy fees from Boehringer Ingelheim and Dupont (paid to the University of Leeds), honoraria from Novo Nordisk (paid to the University of Leeds), support from Novo Nordisk for attending meetings and financial support from Dupont for participation in an advisory board (paid to the University of Leeds). ACB reports honoraria from Johnson and Johnson, Novo Nordisk, Obesity UK and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, outside the submitted work; he is also on the Medical Advisory Board of, and a shareholder of, Reset Health Clinics. KC reports speaker fees from Apollo Endosurgery and Ethicon, and participation in advisory boards for Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly; he is also the Chair of Trustees for the patient charity WLSinfo and for the European Coalition for People living with Obesity. LJE receives funding from the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health and Care Research and is a member of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities National Child Measurement Programme board and the NHS Complications from Excess Weight Clinics E-board. AG is a full-time employee of Novo Nordisk. DG reports honoraria, speaker fees and support for meeting attendance from Novo Nordisk. CH reports consultancy fees from Ethicon and Novo Nordisk. SS reports honoraria from Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Sandoz.
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