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Acculturation and Hispanic‐Heritage Mothers' Perception of Child Weight as Related to Child Feeding Practices
Author(s) -
Luna Viridiana,
Villegas Elizabeth,
Han Bridget,
Hammons Amber,
CruzSantiago Michelle,
Wiley Angela,
TeranGarcia Margarita
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.961.8
Subject(s) - acculturation , overweight , obesity , childhood obesity , intervention (counseling) , anthropometry , medicine , gerontology , demography , ethnic group , psychology , sociology , psychiatry , anthropology
Hispanic children in the United States are disproportionately affected by obesity. Previous analysis revealed that mothers participating in the Abriendo Caminos intervention, aimed at preventing childhood obesity in Hispanic‐heritage families, incorrectly classified their overweight/obese child as normal weight. Effective obesity prevention efforts must consider mothers' roles in child feeding practices and their impact on child weight status over the life course. Acculturation and mother perception of weight may explain some child feeding practices. The aim of this study was to determine whether mothers' acculturation and perception of children's weight was associated with mothers' rationale for offering children snacks. Mother‐child dyads (n=53) of Mexican or Puerto Rican descent were recruited as part of the Abriendo Caminos randomized control/workshop multi‐state intervention. Here we report on the cross‐sectional baseline data acquired to date from participating mothers in the Illinois and California cohorts. The Brief Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans‐II (ARSMA‐II) was used for assessment of acculturation and a set of questions previously developed by Blaine and colleagues (Nutrients, 2015) was used to assess the rationale behind offering snacks. Anthropometric measures were collected from all participants. One‐way ANOVA and Fisher's LSD were used to compare differences in mean times per week that snacks were offered. At baseline, 64% of children were overweight or obese, while only 24% of mothers categorized their child as such. Over half of the mothers (66%) were categorized with low levels of acculturation (very Hispanic oriented). There were no significant associations between child BMI, mother perception of child weight and reasons mothers offered snacks. Compared to mothers who were the least acculturated, those who were the most acculturated reported offering their child more snacks per week because their child was hungry (4.00, p < 0.05). A further understanding of how weight perceptions and acculturation influence health and feeding practices can equip professionals to provide culturally relevant tools for mothers to enact positive changes in their families. Support or Funding Information This research was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2015‐68001‐23248 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.