[Obesity and adolescence: psychological factors and family relationships].

The importance of psychological problems for children obesity and the role of the family context in favouring both pathology appearance and maintenance and eventually the failure of a correct dietetic therapy are presented. Particularly, maternal attitudes are underlined: obese children's mothers tend to make the family their exclusive centre of interest. They also tend to dedicate themselves to their children with possessiveness and hyper-protection. They seem to have an insistent requirement of idealisation of their own role as parents and reward expectations that confirm the efficiency of the care they provide their children. Moreover the psychological features of obese adolescents with anxious and depressive personality traits related to impulsivity and emotional immaturity are analysed.