Table 4 Quotes organized by theme and order of appearance

 1.1

"We just talked about eating smaller meals and making more of a plan of when you’re going to eat. And kind of looking at what you can eat versus what, you know - you still get pleasure and that satisfaction with something else. And then we reduced the size, and we made it six small meals."

43 year old Parent

 1.2

“Adolescent: No, and she kept buying awful foods, and she just kept eating them in front of me. And I was like, ‘Could you not do that?’ Like, I’m trying to focus on this, and you’re just not making it any easier.”

15-year-old female

 1.3

“I mean, it’s been pretty easy, except when my mom makes a dinner that doesn’t have, like, anything healthy. Like, we’re going to have macaroni and hot dogs for dinner. It’s like, oh, okay. Are there any, like, greens involved or any fruit or anything? Just like, no, just this. I was like, oh, okay.”

15-year-old female

 1.4

“I started maybe two months ago, to eat healthier......choose the low-sugar version of granola cereals … my parents had helped me to try to eat healthier … and I’ve been trying to-I’ve definitely been cutting down on pasta and stuff.”

14-year-old male

 1.5

“So, if he were to have a really big bowl of pasta or something like that I might say, ‘Eh, that’s a lot of pasta. You might want to –‘So, sometimes he’ll say, ‘Okay, you’re right,’ and he’ll put some of the pasta back … What we try to do to make it easier for him is we try to have a lot of options that he likes. So, instead of saying eat your whatever it is, we’ve slowly added a lot of fruits and vegetables that he likes … … He likes things like - he’ll have bell peppers and he likes apples and carrots. Cauliflower he likes. Pineapple, cantaloupe. I try to always - when I go to the store, get things that I know that he likes and then, occasionally, I’ll try to take him so that he has a choice of picking out things that he’s interested in trying.”

52-year- old parent

 2.1

“I’m pretty balanced. My parents go get, like, equal parts meat and vegetables, fruit, and so I don’t have to worry about that.”

17-year-old male

 2.2

“Well my mom has been dieting a lot lately. She actually just lost like 50 pounds ever since our dad left a year ago. I guess that if other people that you are spending time with are making an effort then it’s easier for you to make an effort too because you are with them and that kind of thing.”

15-year-old female

 2.3

“My mom’s, like, super pro-healthy, so she’s always just going out of her way to make sure, like, dinner’s good for us. It’s kind of annoying sometimes … … But, like, yeah, dinner’s really there’s a huge variety in what we eat, so it’s pretty good.”

16-year-old female

 2.4

[Female 1, 43] “My husband and I, we do yoga every morning, and then we walk. And, you know, ‘Come on, [name], let’s go.’ And every now and then, she’ll do it. But I’m not going to drag her, you know? It has to be that internal motivation thing. But so, yeah, she does dance at school, and so …

[Male, 56] At this age group, too, I think we become less important in that, and their peer group becomes more important.

[Female 2, 43] Yeah, absolutely.

[Female 1, 43] Yes.

Multiple

 2.5

“I actually enjoy working out with my dad, because he kind of motivates me, because he does triathlons and half marathons. So, he kind of set the goal for me and tried getting me into it. So, whenever I practice with him or just go biking, he’s usually ahead of me and makes me catch up with him and just work harder. And so, I feel like that’s good for me.”

15-year-old female

 2.6

"Honestly I hate working out with my mom, because we tried this one thing together, and she’s like, “Oh, we both need to work out together,” and I was like, “Okay.” So, we started doing it, and then she just kept complaining, and then she quit, and then I just kept doing it. And then she’s like, “Oh, I want to join you again.” And I was like, “Okay.” Then she kept complaining, and then she quit. And it’s just a constant thing. Like, she just can’t stick with it. I’m kind of like, “Okay, either you want to do it or you don’t.”

15-year-old female

 2.7

“I’m fine with working out with my parents. It’s just, like, a little embarrassing at first. You don’t want them to see you being, like, different from them, so then it’s a little embarrassing. But after that, you get used to it, and it’s fine.”

17-year-old male

 2.8

"I think it’ll be better for him … … .there’s other kids who are like him and they can all - his peer group and go through the same types of issues together. I think for (my adolescent) that’s better than the adults always telling him. I think he’s tired of the adults saying, ‘Okay, you need to eat better. You need to do this, you need to do that"

58-year-old parent

 2.9

“I can’t physically put him someplace with his own initiative. So I kind of gave up pestering him because I feel like I’m always criticizing him and always nagging him about all these things, the room, the food. I feel like almost every time I address him, it’s going to be in a negative way. That makes me feel really bad, but I’m trying to help him.”

53-year-old parent

 3.1

“Like one of my friends lives like literally 3 houses away from this big plaza where they have a McDonald’s, Taco Bell, 7-Eleven, like all these places and she just goes there all the time and when she doesn’t go there she has like ramen noodles. She never has any home cooked meals. She is like the worst one of my friends but she is like really skinny and she just has one of those metabolism things and she brags about it all the time. It’s super annoying.”

15-year-old female

 3.2

“When I’m in control of them, yeah, they’re healthy. But if he’s with his friends, then ColdStone is the meal, or something like that.”

56-year-old parent

 3.3

“Being with my friends and stuff, like doing something that we enjoy doing. A lot of my friends are into sports and basketball … …”

15-year-old male

 3.4

“It’s like different friends I guess … … the one that didn’t leave is the one that sits around all day. But those people [friends who have just moved away] would kind of kick my butt sometimes and say like hey lets go for a hike. And I went on a hike with them twice.”

17-year-old male

 3.5

“I mean there were a couple of times where his friends stopped by and said, ‘We’re going to the gym to go work out’, so he would walk with them. I think that if his friends did that more or maybe if we did it as a family more and not as busy - but I think if his friends did it more I think he would be more apt to go because I don’t think he wants to hang out with his family at the gym.”

47-year old parent