BACKGROUND: Adherence is a challenge in obesity treatment. Motivational interviewing (MI) may promote patient adherence. MI Values is a randomized controlled trial of MI implemented as an adjunct to an adolescent obesity treatment (Teaching Encouragement Exercise Nutrition Support (TEENS)). OBJECTIVE: Assess effects of MI values on TEENS attrition and adherence. METHODS: Participants were randomized to MI (n = 58) or control (n = 41). At weeks 1 and 10, MI participants had brief MI sessions; controls viewed health education videos. All participants continued with TEENS (biweekly dietitian and behavioural support visits; 3 times per week supervised physical activity). Assessments were repeated at baseline, 3 and 6 months. T-tests and Chi-square analyses examined TEENS attrition and adherence by group. RESULTS: Adolescents (n = 99) were primarily African-American (73%) females (74%); age 13.8 +/- 1.8 years, body mass index percentile 98.0 +/- 1.2. Compared with controls, MI participants had greater 3-month adherence overall (89.2% versus 81.0%, p = 0.040), and to dietitian (91.3% versus 84.0%; p = 0.046) and behavioural support (92.9% versus 85.2%; p = 0.041) visits, and greater 6-month adherence overall (84.4% versus 76.2%, p = 0.026) and to behavioural support visits (87.5% versus 78.8%, p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: MI enhanced adherence to this obesity intervention. MI values is the first study to examine the impact of MI on treatment adherence among obese, primarily African-American adolescents.

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