The obesity epidemic has already reached the youngest demographic: About 17 percent of U.S. children and teens are obese, and about one in three are overweight. These numbers, reflected in many other countries, have risen steadily in recent decades. And researchers are racing to find the most powerful drivers behind these scary figures, as children who carry the extra pounds into adulthood increase their risks for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases. The most basic cause—no.

With more people bringing work home after hours, communication between parents and teens is dwindling.

Technology is a new kind of stress in many homes, and has resulted in a change in family dynamics, especially where teenagers and their parents are concerned, according to Charles Manos, MS, Ed.S., LMFT, marriage and family therapist, formerly of Bethel School District, now working in the public school system in Brookfield.

“This is a new world,” Manos said. “People.