To fight obesity, ask the right questions
From Times wire reports
Researchers are developing a potential new weapon in the battle against obesity: training pediatricians and dietitians in a special interviewing technique designed to motivate parents of overweight kids to make healthy changes in their family lifestyles.
The technique, motivational interviewing, involves asking open-ended questions (for example, “Could you tell me how you feel about your weight?”).
Other strategies are listening and repeating the interviewee’s answers, and encouraging them to recognize what is holding them back from making changes, said lead author Dr. Robert P. Schwartz of Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.
