Adolescents and Parents’ Perspectives of a Modified Protein-Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF) for Adolescents with Severe Obesity

Purpose: Among U.S. adolescents, ages 12 to 19, 1 in 5 have obesity, and 1 in 11 have severe obesity. Unfortunately, youth with severe obesity respond poorly to current conventional lifestyle interventions when compared to their overweight and obese peers, and have limited access to bariatric surgery. One alternative treatment is the protein-sparing modified fast (PSMF), a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet shown to result in substantial and potentially sustainable weight loss. However, this treatment option is not yet offered regularly to adolescents with severe obesity. The purpose of this study was …