Emotion-Focused Behavioral Weight Loss Treatment for Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance: Family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) efficacy decreases in adolescence, a developmental period of gradual maturation and increasing autonomy during which emotion regulation skills develop.

Objective

To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of FBT alone compared with FBT plus emotion regulation across 6 months of treatment and 12 months of follow-up on adolescent weight change, emotion regulation, emotional eating, and parent weight change. Design, setting, and participants: This parallel-group randomized clinical trial of adolescents 13 to 16 years of age with body mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile or higher but less than the 99.9th percentile was conducted from August 29, 2019, to January 4, 2024, at 2 university clinics. Central randomization was completed by a statistician, and outcome assessors were blinded to treatment condition. The majority of treatments and assessments were delivered remotely via video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.