Adolescence obesity is one of the public health concerns that contribute to health disparities in the United States. Low-income communities are disproportionately impacted due to socioeconomic, environmental, cultural, and behavioral factors. Motivating vulnerable populations is a crucial component in health and behavior change communication.

Maintaining a healthy weight can positively benefit many clinical issues, so you should regularly make it a priority to discuss what benefits even modest weight loss can produce, but it is important to do so with respect and empathy. Most overweight and obese patients have lost tens if not hundreds of pounds.

Physiotherapists have an important role in encouraging individuals to increase their levels of physical activity and give advice on having a healthy diet. Obesity can be seen in a musculoskeletal clinic where, for example, knee pain could be exacerbated or in a medical ward where a patient's diabetes may be poorly managed. Despite the various health care professions' efforts to tackle the issue, obesity is still on the rise and considered a global epidemic.[1] A reason for this could be that underlying causes of obesity and overweight may not have been fully taken into account in previous interventions.[2] Communication is a huge part of tackling obesity and there are many approaches of communication, such as motivational interviewing that assist physiotherapists to facilitate behavior change with patients who are struggling with this issue.

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