The views of teenagers with obesity, their caregivers, and doctors: a plain language summary of the ACTION Teens global survey

Plain language summary What is this summary about? This is a summary of a research survey called ACTION Teens. In our survey, 12,987 people from 10 countries answered questions about obesity. They were: 5275 teenagers with obesity, 5389 caregivers of teenagers with obesity, and 2323 doctors who provide medical care for teenagers with obesity. What were the main results of the survey? Most teenagers with obesity were worried about their weight and thought that losing weight was their responsibility. Many teenagers had already tried to lose weight. For teenagers, wanting to be more fit or in better shape was the top reason for wanting to lose weight. Some caregivers did not realize how worried their teenager was about their own weight. There were also some caregivers who were not aware of their teenager's recent attempts to lose weight. As a group, the doctors did not know the main reasons why teenagers want to lose weight. They also did not know the main reasons preventing teenagers from losing weight. What do the results of the survey mean? Teenagers with obesity will be better supported and understood if there is better communication between teenagers, caregivers, and doctors. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT05013359 (ClinicalTrials.gov)


What is obesity?
Obesity is a chronic disease. People with obesity have more body fat than what is healthy. This can make a person more likely to have other diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Obesity needs long-term support from doctors.
Doctors use a measurement called body mass index, or BMI, to check if you have obesity. This measurement uses your weight and height to find out if your weight is healthy and appropriate for your height.

Why did we do this survey?
More teenagers have obesity than ever before. However, not many researchers have looked at: • how teenagers feel about obesity • what teenagers find hard about having obesity • what help teenagers with obesity might want or need. Some researchers have found that teenagers with obesity and their caregivers have different ideas about how to deal with their obesity.
In ACTION Teens, researchers sent a survey to: • teenagers with obesity • caregivers of teenagers with obesity • doctors who provide medical care for teenagers with obesity.
The aim of this summary is to help people understand the most interesting results of the ACTION Teens survey. This includes: • teenagers with obesity • caregivers of teenagers with obesity • doctors • anyone interested in understanding obesity in teenagers.

Who sponsored this survey?
Novo Nordisk A/S sponsored the ACTION Teens survey.
Body mass index (BMI): a measurement based on someone's weight and height. It is used to find out if you are a healthy weight. Their preference for unhealthy food

Teenagers with obesity Doctors
The top 3 reasons preventing teenagers from losing weight, according to 8 Most teenagers felt they could talk honestly about their weight with their mother/father, but more than 1 in 3 felt they could not talk about their weight honestly with a parent.

Fewer than 1 in 3 teenagers could talk honestly with a doctor.
Percentage of teenagers with obesity who felt they could talk about their weight honestly with… Where can you find more information about this survey?
Views of teenagers with obesity, their caregivers, and doctors: ACTION Teens global survey Plain Language Summary of Publication Most teenagers with obesity: • were worried about their weight • thought that losing weight was their responsibility • had already tried to lose weight • planned to try to lose weight soon.
Some caregivers: • did not realize how worried their teenager was about their own weight • were not aware of their teenager's recent attempts to lose weight.
As a group, the doctors did not know: • the main reasons why teenagers want to lose weight • the main reasons preventing teenagers from losing weight.

What do the results of this survey mean?
Take-home message It is important that teenagers with obesity, their caregivers, and doctors talk and listen to one another. Teenagers will then be better supported and understood.
Learn more about obesity at the following websites:

Educational resources
How this survey might be different from other information: • These results are only from the ACTION Teens survey.
• Other researchers might find out different things about teenagers and obesity. This is because we asked our questions in 2021, and people might think differently in the future.