Exploring the Meaning of Excess Child Weight and Health:
Shared Viewpoints of Mexican Parents
Of Preschool Children
Leigh Small Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk
Deborah Anderson-Gifford Jeffrey S. Hampl
In the United States, the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has reached epidemic levels, with
U.S. Hispanic children, a sub-group mainly composed of children of Mexican decent, disproportionately
affected. Prior research has suggested that Mexican parents may view overweight in early childhood as
desirable; however, it is unclear if this is still the case. Therefore, this qualitative study explored the beliefs
of 11 Mexican parents of preschoolers regarding weight and health. Following coding and clustering of
themes from the transcribed audio-recorded meetings, six patterns were identified: (a) meanings and relationships
about excess weight in childhood and child health, (b) causes of overweight and obesity, (c) uncertainty
about knowing and not knowing, (d) from Mexico to America: enticements of a new land and time as
a commodity, (e) the effects of society on personal and parental goals: the work of parenting in the United
States, and (f) identified needs and action strategies. In summary, parents involved in this group discussion
readily associated overweight/obesity with poor mental and physical health; however, they were uncertain
how they would "know" if their children were overweight. |