Grant: Project Grant

Adolescence is the developmental time period when youth learn to regulate their emotional responses. Learning to regulate emotions is a key socio-emotional skill that sets that stage for life-long psychological, emotional and physical health. The development of emotional regulation is compromised in adolescents living with obesity, making it challenging for teens to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle behaviours. Adopting and sustaining healthy lifestyle behaviours, like healthy eating, regular activity and limited screen time is also essential for lifelong psychological, emotional and physical health. Unfortunately, very few treatments aimed at supporting healthy lifestyles for adolescents with obesity incorporate skills that could help regulate emotions and support positive mental health. The purpose of this pilot randomized trial is to determine if it is feasible to deliver a treatment for teens, that includes emotional skills training, that will particularly enhance a teen's ability to be mindful, tolerate/manage distress, build and maintain positive relationships, as well as increase the family's ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with one another. The pilot trial will also determine if adding these skills to a conventional lifestyle change treatment will lead to better improvements in quality of life, mental well being and reduce levels of depression among teens living with obesity. The results will inform future research in the area of adolescent obesity and possibly reshape the way we support adolescents by supporting their social, emotional and psychological needs in addition to changing their lifestyle behaviours.