the association between parental and peer engagement and adolescent obesity and metabolic health: a scoping review

The high prevalence of adolescent obesity is a significant public health concern associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm). this scoping review maps and synthesizes the existing evidence on the associations between parental and peer engagement and metabolic health outcomes in adolescents. prisma 2020 criteria were adopted to guide a systematic search across four databases (pubmed, cochrane library, embase, and sage publishing) for studies published between january 2011 and august 2021. the studies involving adolescents (≤19 years) with overweight or obesity that reported on associations between parental and/or peer engagement and metabolic outcomes were included. of 1,476 identified records, 38 studies met the inclusion criteria. a modified strobe checklist was used to assess the risk of bias. the findings demonstrated consistent correlations between parental engagement—manifested through supportive parenting styles, structured parenting practices, and positive role modeling—and adolescent outcomes, including healthier eating and activity habits, improved glycemic control, and lower bmi. in contrast, evidence for peer engagement was limited, showing weaker and less consistent associations with dietary and physical activity behaviors. the body of evidence was characterized by a predominance of cross-sectional studies, limiting causal inference. this review maps a consistent associative role for parental factors in adolescent metabolic health and underscores a significant gap in the literature regarding the role of peers. the synthesized evidence suggests that family-centered variables are promising targets for future longitudinal and interventional research aimed at preventing obesity and t2dm in this population.