Promoting Healthy Eating and Regular Physical Activity in Low-Income Families Through Family-Centered Programs: Implicat
- PDF / 645,170 Bytes
- 26 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 99 Downloads / 190 Views
Promoting Healthy Eating and Regular Physical Activity in Low‑Income Families Through Family‑Centered Programs: Implications for Practice Sara N. Lappan1 · Marsha Carolan2 · J. Ruben Parra‑Cardona3 · Lorraine Weatherspoon4 Accepted: 2 October 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Research concerning children who are overweight has historically focused on providing services to the affected individuals, and limited attention has been paid to their families. Further, childhood obesity prevention and clinical programs continue to be impacted by contextual factors that increase the likelihood of attrition when targeting underserved populations. This paper provides data with relevance for interventions aimed at promoting healthy eating and regular physical activity with low-income families. Participants in a childhood obesity exploratory study provided recommendations to improve programs by reflecting on specific family and contextual issues related to children who are overweight and obese. Following a thematic analysis approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 lowincome, single, female parents. All participants had, at the time of the interview, at least one overweight or obese child between the ages of 3 and 8. We report the critical role of context in the etiology and challenges of childhood obesity among disadvantaged populations. Findings also highlight the need for interventions to be culturally relevant and sensitive and to create opportunities to address and discuss participant experiences of discrimination, cultural factors, and family of origin influences. Interventions that do not address these contextual factors run the risk of being unsuccessful. Our findings are important for mental and public health professionals who are interested in the direct provision of services using a combination of social determinants of systemic perspectives. Keywords Family · Qualitative · Health
* Sara N. Lappan [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
The Journal of Primary Prevention
Introduction Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States that has long lasting negative implications well into adulthood (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2014). Underserved ethnic minorities have been disproportionately affected by this serious health problem (Ogden et al., 2014). However, it is not clear how effective traditional interventions, which typically use data from mostly White samples and focus on micro-level behavioral changes, have been for these vulnerable populations. Income plays a large role and can interact with race and ethnicity in explaining health disparities with regard to people who are overweight and obese (Kreuger & Reither, 2015). Children of low-income and single female parents and guardians may be at higher risk for being overweight and obese (Augustine & Kimbro, 2013; Huffman, Kanikireddy, & Patel, 2010). Single female parents and guardians are more likely to be et
Data Loading...
