Table 1.

Study characteristics of randomized controlled trials integrating elements from SDT, SCT, and FST

First Author & Year	MQRS	Location	Design	Participants	Sample Size	Treatment Intensity/Dose	Length of Follow-Up	Attrition Ratio	Theories	Intervention Features	Obesity-Related Results	Motivational and Behavioral Results	Parenting-Related Results
Resnicow 2015	10	Primary Care	3 groups: 1) Usual Care; 2) Motivational Interviewing with a primary-care provider; 3) Motivational Interviewing with a primary-care provider plus RD	Parents of overweight youth, ages 2 to 8	645	4–10 in-person sessions delivered to the parent over 2 years	2 years	29%	SDT, SCT	1) Motivational interviewing with the parent; 2) Behavioral skills training	Youth whose parent received motivational interviewing and behavioral skills training from both a primary care provider and a RD had a significantly lower BMI than the usual care group.
Davoli 2013	8	Primary Care	2 groups: 1) Usual Care; 2) Motivational Interviewing	Parents and overweight youth, ages 4–7	372	Five in-person sessions with parent & child over 1 year	1 year	5%	SDT, SCT	1) Motivational interviewing with the parent; 2) Behavioral skills training	Children in the intervention group gained significantly less weight over one year than those in the usual care group. Female children and children whose caregiver had a higher educational level were more responsive to the intervention.
Taveras 2011	9	Primary Care	2 groups: 1) Motivational Interviewing intervention; 2) Wait-List Control	Parents of overweight/obese youth, ages 4 to 6 and parents	475	Four in-person 25-min visits and three 15 min phone calls delivered over 1 year	1 year	6%	SDT, SCT	1) Motivational interviewing with the parent; 2) Behavioral skills training (specific to TV-watching, fast food consumption, and sweetened beverages intake)	At the conclusion of the first year, there was no significant difference in BMI. In a post hoc analysis, the researchers found a significant change in BMI among girls, but not boys	The intervention group showed a significant decrease in screen time
West 2010	9	Community	2 groups: 1) Positive parenting lifestyle intervention; 2) Wait-list control group	Parents of overweight/obese youth, ages 4–11	101	12 week program with nine 90-minute group sessions and three 20-minute telephone sessions	1 year	34.60%	FST, SCT	1) Motivational interviewing; 2) Behavioral skills training for improving nutrition and PA strategies ; 3) Positive parenting strategies; 4) Feedback & problem-solving w/ a counselor	At the conclusion of the intervention, there was a significant reduction in children’s BMI, with additional reductions in BMI after a one year follow-up		At the conclusion of the intervention and at a one-year follow-up, parents reported greater confidence in managing their children’s weight- related problem behavior and less frequent use of inconsistent or coercive parenting strategies.
Østbye 2012	10	Home	2 groups: 1) home-based weight-loss intervention; 2) Usual care control group	Mothers with children ages 2–5 who were overweight or obese prior to pregnancy	200	8 month program with monthly mailed interactive kits and monthly motivational interviewing sessions delivered by telephone	1 year	23%	FST, SDT, SC T	1) Intervention kits that targeted positive parenting practices; 2) monthly motivational interviewing phone calls with behavioral skills training	At the conclusion of the intervention, there was no significant difference in BMI.		Mothers in the intervention group were less likely to use food as a reward, to feed children in front of the TV., and displayed greater role-modeling, including drinking less sugar-sweetened beverages and greater fruit and vegetable consumption.
Wilson 2011	10	School	2 groups: 1) afterschool motivational intervention; 2) health education control group	Middle-school students, ages 10–12	1422	17 weeks	6 months	8%	SDT, SCT	1) Self-initiated choice of physical activity; 2) Motivational and behavioral skills training	At the conclusion of the intervention, there was no significant difference in BMI.	Students in the intervention group showed greater increases in physical activity during the intervention than those who were in the general health education comparison group.	Post-intervention focus groups revealed that competing demands at home and lack of parental involvement were two of the key barriers that prevented students from making sustainable changes in physical activity
Lubans 2016	10	School	2 groups: 1) school-based intervention; 2) Usual care control	Middle-school students, ages 12–14	361	20 weeks	18 months	26.30%	SDT, SCT	1) In-person physical activity sessions delivered by a teacher trained in Supportive Active, Autonomous, Fair, and Enjoyable teaching principles; 2) lunch-time physical activity leadership sessions run by students; 3) pedometers for physical activity self-monitoring; 4) a web-based smart phone application, 5) newsletters for parents that highlighted strategies for reducing their family’s screen-time	At an 18-month follow-up, there was no significant difference in BMI between the control and intervention groups	The intervention group did display greater autonomous motivation for physical activity and reduced screen-time relative to the control group.

Note. MQRS = Methodological Quality Rating Scale, range 0–12.

SDT = Self-Determination Theory; SCT = Social-Cognitive Theory; FST = Family-Systems Theory