scholarly journals A positive deviance-based qualitative study of stress, coping, and feeding practices among low-income, Hispanic mothers whose children do versus do not meet guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 584-604
Author(s):  
Eleanor Shonkoff ◽  
Sara C Folta ◽  
Theodore Fitopoulos ◽  
Cynthia N Ramirez ◽  
Ricky Bluthenthal ◽  
...  

Abstract Less than 1% of children in the United States concurrently meet guidelines for fruit/vegetable intake, physical activity, screen time, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Prior evidence suggests that parents of this 1% potentially cope with stress differently. This qualitative study used a positive deviance-based approach to locate mothers whose children avoided negative feeding outcomes despite being ‘high-risk’ for obesity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Spanish for two groups: low-income, Hispanic mothers whose children were normal weight and met recommendations for fruits/vegetables and physical activity (n = 5); and a comparison group whose children had obesity and did not meet guidelines (n = 8). Topics included weight-related parenting practices, attitudes toward health, and stress management. Interviews were transcribed, translated, and coded using NVivo for theoretically driven thematic analysis. Results suggested that mothers viewed stress differently. Mothers of healthy weight children believed stress could be prevented, such as by paying children more attention or directing one’s attention away from stressors; comparison group mothers tended to report stress about managing their child’s eating and about financial worries. Future research is needed to understand the underlying sources of these differences (e.g. personality traits, coping practices) and test whether stress prevention interventions can promote healthy parental feeding practices.

Author(s):  
Melissa A. Napolitano ◽  
Cherise B. Harrington ◽  
Loral Patchen ◽  
Lindsey P. Ellis ◽  
Tony Ma ◽  
...  

The study aim was to implement and evaluate the feasibility of a culturally informed (“BeFAB”) app for African American/Black women to address postpartum weight. Women (n = 136; mean age = 27.8 ± 5.4; mean BMI = 32.5 ± 4.3) were recruited from postpartum units, and randomly assigned to receive BeFAB (n = 65) or usual care (n = 71) for 12 weeks. App content included didactic lessons delivered via a virtual coach, app-based messages, goal setting and tracking, and edutainment videos. Feasibility outcomes included recruitment, retention and engagement, and self-reported acceptability. Behavioral (i.e., diet, physical activity), psychosocial (i.e., stress, coping, support, self-efficacy) and weight outcomes were also examined. Recruitment goals were met, but attrition was high, with 56% retention at 12 weeks. Approximately half of participants accessed the app and set a goal ≥one time, but <10% reported achieving a nutrition or activity goal. Among study completers, ≥60% found the app content at least somewhat helpful. Within-group changes for BeFAB among completers were found for increased moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and decreased fruit/vegetable intake and weight. Findings indicate initial feasibility of recruiting postpartum women to participate in a digital healthy body weight program but limited use, reflecting low acceptability and challenges in engagement and retention. Future research is needed on strategies to engage and retain participants in postpartum interventions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene E. Chung ◽  
Asheley C. Skinner ◽  
Stephanie E. Hasty ◽  
Eliana M. Perrin

We developed and pilot tested a mHealth intervention, “Tweeting to Health,” which used Fitbits, Twitter, and gamification to facilitate support for healthy lifestyle changes in overweight/obese (OW) and healthy weight (HW) young adults. Participants tracked activity and diet using Fitbits and used Twitter for messaging for 2 months. Physical activity, dietary intake, and Tweets were tracked and participants completed surveys at enrollment, 1 month, and 2 months. Descriptive statistics were used to examine steps/day, physical activity intensity, lifestyle changes, and total Tweets. Participants were on average 19 to 20 years old and had familiarity with Twitter. OW participants had on average 11 222 daily steps versus 11 686 (HW). One-day challenges were successful in increasing steps. Participants increased fruit/vegetable intake (92%) and decreased their sugar-sweetened beverage intake (67%). Compliance with daily Fitbit wear (99% of all days OW vs 73% HW) and daily dietary logging (82% OW vs 73% HW) and satisfaction was high.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Lora ◽  
Paul Branscum ◽  
Sixia Chen ◽  
Dorothy Wakefield

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the relationship of home fruit and vegetable (F&V) availability and maternal feeding practices (restriction, pressure, modeling, monitoring) with preschoolers’ F&V intake. Methods Hispanic mothers (n = 238) of 2-to-5-year-old children from low-income neighborhoods participated in the study. Mothers reported home availability of F&V (whole fruit, fruit juice [FJ], total fruit [FJ and whole fruit combined], and vegetables) in the past month, their feeding practices and their children's F&V consumption (cups) in the past month. Data were collected using one-to-one interviews in English or Spanish. Logistic regression models tested associations of availability of F&V groups and feeding practices with children's intake of ≥ 1 cup per day of total fruit and vegetables as per MyPlate minimum daily recommendation for preschoolers. Results Availability of total fruit and maternal modeling increased the odds of child's consumption of ≥ 1 cup of fruit: Odds ratio (OR) = 2.41; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.56-3.70; P < 0.0001, and OR = 1.73; CI, 1.10-2.74; P < 0.020, respectively. Concurrently, maternal pressure and child's being a female increased the odds of child's consumption of ≥ 1 cup of vegetables: OR = 1.44; CI, 1.10-1.90; P < 0.009, and OR = 1.91; CI, 1.07-3.40; P < 0.028, respectively. Having more children in the home reduced the odds of child's intake of ≥ 1 cup of vegetables: OR = 0.78; CI, 0.61-0.99; P < 0.037. There were no significant associations between children's Body Mass Index (BMI) percentile and children's consumption of F&V or maternal feeding practices. Conclusions Environmental factors within the home appears to influence Hispanic preschoolers’ intake of F&V differently. To increase children's intake of fruit, family interventions should promote home fruit availability and maternal food modeling practices. However, since maternal pressure to eat has not been associated with F&V intake, the significant association between vegetable intake and pressuring children to eat found in this study must be further examined in similar cultural samples to replicate this finding. Funding Sources U54GM104938.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (17) ◽  
pp. 3211-3225
Author(s):  
Ana Cristina Lindsay ◽  
Gabriela Vasconcellos de Barros Vianna ◽  
Carlos André Moura Arruda ◽  
Amanda De Sá Melo Alves ◽  
Maria Helena Hasselmann ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectives:Brazilians comprise a rapidly growing immigrant Latino group in the USA, yet little research has focused on health issues affecting Brazilian children in immigrant families. As increasing evidence is documenting fathers’ influential role in their children’s eating behaviours and ultimately weight status, the current study sought to explore the Brazilian immigrant fathers’ perspectives and practices related to child’s feeding practices and their preschool-aged children’s eating.Design:Qualitative study using in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted in Portuguese by native Brazilian research staff using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed thematically using a hybrid approach that incorporated deductive and inductive analytical approaches.Setting:Massachusetts.Participants:Twenty-one Brazilian immigrant fathers who had at least one child aged 2–5 years.Results:Results revealed fathers’ awareness of the importance of healthy eating for their children, their influence as role models and their involvement in feeding routines of their preschool-aged children. Moreover, fathers were receptive to participating in family interventions to promote their children’s healthy eating. Nearly all fathers reported wanting to learn more and to do ‘what’s right’ for their children.Conclusions:The current study provides new information about Brazilian immigrant fathers’ views about factors influencing their children’s healthy eating behaviours and paternal feeding practices. Future research should quantify fathers’ feeding styles and practices and solicit fathers’ input in the design of culturally appropriate family interventions targeting the home environment of preschool-aged children of Brazilian immigrant families.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 409-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
SangNam Ahn ◽  
Joonhyung Lee ◽  
Jenny Bartlett-Prescott ◽  
Lisa Carson ◽  
Lindsey Post ◽  
...  

Purpose: To examine the effects of a community-based behavioral intervention with multiple components on health outcomes among low-income and uninsured adults who were obese and had diabetes and treated in a “real-world” setting. Design: A longitudinal design with a retrospective comparison group was used to examine the ability of a health promotion program to improve body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among 87 treatment group and 62 comparison group participants. Setting: Urban/metropolitan city in the United States. Intervention: A community-based behavioral intervention with 3 components including health-coach visits, registered dietitian visits, and exercise consultations delivered over 12 months. Measures: Biometric measurements were collected at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months, whereas self-reported measurements were collected at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Analysis: Linear mixed models with participant-level random intercepts were fitted for BMI and HbA1c. Results: The treatment group demonstrated reductions in BMI (percentage change = −2.1%, P < .001) and HbA1c (−0.6%, P < .001) as well as improvement in diabetes knowledge (+5.4%, P = .025), whereas the comparison group did not show any improvements in biometric measures. Dietitian visits were the most effective treatment component to reduce HbA1c (coefficient = −0.08, P = .025). Conclusion: Multiple component behavioral intervention in community settings, particularly when delivered by registered dietitians, shows promise to combat the dual epidemic of obesity and diabetes among low-income and uninsured patients.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee F. Monaghan

This article explores men’s talk about physical activity, weight, health and slimming. Drawing from qualitative data from men whom medicine might label overweight or obese, it outlines various ideal typical ways of orienting to the idea that physical activity promotes “healthy” weight loss before exploring the most critical display of perspective: justifiable resistance and defiance. This gendered mode of accountability comprises numerous themes. These range from the inefficiency of physical activity in promoting weight loss to resisting imposed discipline. Theoretically and politically, these data are read as a situationally fitting and meaningful response to “symbolic violence” in a field of “masculine domination” (Bourdieu 2001)—that is, a society in which fatness is routinely discredited as feminine and feminizing filth by institutions that are publicly reinforcing and amplifying fatphobic norms or sizism.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Scholes ◽  
Jennifer S Mindell

Objective: Quantify inequalities in self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in England and the United States (US). Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Participants: 4019 adolescents aged 11-15 years in England (Health Survey for England 2008, 2012, 2015) and 4312 aged 12-17 years in the US (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-16). Main outcome measures: Three aspects of MVPA: (1) doing any, (2) average min/day (MVPA: including those who did none), and (3) average min/day conditional on participation (MVPA-active). Using hurdle models, we quantified inequalities (average marginal effects: AMEs) using the absolute difference in marginal means. Results: In England, adolescents in high-income households were more likely than those in low-income households to have done any formal sports/exercise in the last seven days (boys: 11%; 95% CI: 4% to 17%; girls: 13%; 95% CI: 6% to 20%); girls in high-income households did more than their low-income counterparts (MVPA: 6 min/day, 95% CI: 2 to 9). Girls in low-income households spent more time in informal activities than girls in high-income households (MVPA: 21 min/day; 95% CI: 10 to 33), whilst boys in low-income versus high-income households spent longer in active travel (MVPA: 21 min/week; 95% CI: 8 to 34). In the US, in a typical week, recreational activity was greater among high-income versus low-income households (boys: 15 min/day; 95% CI: 6 to 24 min/day; girls: 19 min/day; 95% CI: 12 to 27). In contrast, adolescents in low-income versus high-income households were more likely to travel actively (boys: 11%; 95% CI: 3% to 19%; girls: 10%; 95% CI: 3% to 17%) and do more. Conclusions: Policy actions and interventions are required to increase MVPA across all income groups in England and the US. Differences in formal sports/exercise (England) and recreational (US) activities suggest that additional efforts are required to reduce inequalities.


10.2196/10858 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. e10858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan L McCloskey ◽  
Darcy A Thompson ◽  
Barbara Chamberlin ◽  
Lauren Clark ◽  
Susan L Johnson ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Rieder ◽  
Jee-Young Moon ◽  
Joanna Joels ◽  
Viswanathan Shankar ◽  
Paul Meissner ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The United States needs to increase access to effective obesity prevention and treatment programming for impoverished youth at risk for health disparities. Although interventions targeting schools are recommended, schools rarely implement evidence-based obesity programing.Methods: Using a pragmatic quasi-experimental design, we report on the effectiveness of adding structured nutrition education and minimum physical activity (PA) requirements to standard middle school onsite afterschool programming. Programming was evaluated over three school years (2016- 2018) to determine: 1) impact on healthy weight and target healthy behavior attainment; and 2) whether target behavior improvement was associated with afterschool program attendance and weight change.Results: In response to 601 recruitment letters 13% (76 students) enrolled (62% Hispanic, 46% girls, 72% with BMI > 85 th %ile, 49% with BMI > 95 th %ile). With low baseline attainment of 7 target behaviors including:1) daily breakfast and lunch (32%); 2) 2-3 servings fruit/day (53%); 3) > 3 servings vegetables/day (29%); 4) 8 cups sugar-free beverages (SFB)/day and <1 cup sugary beverage/day (9%); 5) > 8 hours sleep/night (75%); 6) > 7 hours PA/week (21%); and 7) < 1 unhealthy snack (US) and <1 fast food meal/week (25%), the calculated composite score was 2.5 out of 7. Of students with BMI > 85 th %ile, 44% maintained or decreased BMI Z-score. There were non-significant trends in improvements in BMI Z-score and target consumption of: fruit, vegetables, SFB, and US food. Students with higher afterschool attendance ( > 75%) had greater non-significant improvements in composite score, BMI Z-score, and in most target behaviors (5/7) compared to students with lower afterschool attendance (<75%). Although not significant, improvements in composite score attainment and most target behaviors (5/7) were associated with decreases in BMI Z-score. Sleep improvements were significantly associated with BMI Z-score decrease (Beta=-0.05, 95% CI (-0.1,-0.003), p=0.038.) Conclusions : Enhancement of existing afterschool programming with health oriented elements and minimum physical activity requirements demonstrates trends toward improvement in several health behaviors and weight outcomes. Addition of enhanced programming increases access to health activities and may bring us closer to solving issue of obesity in at-risk youth in impoverished communities.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT03565744. Registered 21 June 2018 – Retrospectively registerd, https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/prs/app/action/LoginUser?ts=1&cx=-jg9qo4.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document