Exposure-based family therapy

This chapter presents background on the use of bariatric surgery to treat adolescent obesity, family involvement in treatment of pediatric obesity, family involvement in preparing teens for weight loss surgery and present a proposed plan for implementing Family-Based Therapy for Weight Loss Surgery (FBT-WLS). Severe and morbid obesity have been associated with a number of serious health comorbidities in both adults and adolescents. The negative health consequences of medical comorbidities associated with pediatric obesity and the resolution of WLS, comorbidities have been taken into account when selecting patients for bariatric surgery. Although recent analysis of prevalence rates of obesity for children, adolescents, and adults in the United States suggests that obesity rates seem to have plateaued, with no increase from 2003-04 to 2011-12 estimates obesity remains a major health concern given the high number of medical comorbidities with which it is associated, not to mention psychological and quality of life concerns.