Individual and Family Factors in Disordered Eating Patterns of Mexican-American Women

Objective: In this study, we examined the contribution of individual- (acculturation, body mass index, and body size satisfaction) and family- (maternal weight-related messages and disordered eating patterns) level factors in predicting bulimic and dieting behaviors in young Mexican-American women with overweight or obesity. Methods: We recruited adult Mexican- American mother-daughter dyads from the community. We conducted correlational analysis and hierarchical regression. Results: Daughters who were less satisfied with their body size reported higher symptoms of bulimic (r = -.34, p < .01) or dieting behavior (r = -.36, p < .01). Daughters who received more positive maternal messages on eating and weight had mothers with lower symptoms of bulimic (r = -.43, p < .01) or dieting behavior (r = -.30, p < .05). Maternal symptoms of bulimic behavior were the strongest predictor of daughters' bulimic behavior (ß = .379, p = .007), and body size satisfaction was the strongest predictor of daughters' dieting behavior (ß = -.372, p = .008) in adjusted models. Conclusion: Mexican-American women who are less satisfied with their body size and have mothers with elevated symptoms of bulimic behavior are at risk for disordered eating patterns. Intervening at the individual level on body image and family level on maternal modeling of eating behavior may help support healthy weight management behaviors.

Eat Healthy, Be Active Community Workshops implemented with rural Hispanic women

Background In the U.S., obesity disproportionately affects some racial/ethnic groups more than others; 42.5% of Hispanic adults are obese, compared to 32.6% of non-Hispanic whites (NHW). Research also shows that Mexican American women are 40% more likely to be overweight, as compared to NHW women. With high obesity rates among Hispanics, improving healthier lifestyle practices is an important step for reducing health disparities. The Eat Healthy, Be Active (EHBA) community workshops were developed to assist individuals in translating national nutrition and physical activity recommendations into action. Promotora-led EHBA workshops could be used to promote obesity-related health behavior lifestyle changes among Hispanics. Methods Hispanic women from rural communities in Washington state were recruited to participate in a six-week Promotora-led workshop series. This pilot study used a pre- and post-test study design to examine differences in healthy lifestyle knowledge and practices. Results A total of 49 Hispanic women participated in the workshops, of whom 45% were obese. Six-weeks after implementation of EHBA, women had improvements in healthy lifestyle practices, including an increase in nutrition label literacy, decrease in consumption of food eaten in restaurants, and an increase in the number of times a woman performed physical activity long enough to make them sweat. Conclusion The findings from this pilot study indicate that delivering EHBA workshops through promotoras is a feasible culturally relevant approach to promoting healthier lifestyle practices among Hispanic women. Further, focusing on females, who do the food shopping and preparation in their homes, may help increase awareness among whole families.

WOMEN’S LANGUAGE OF MEXICAN FEMALE CHARACTERS DEPICTED IN TELENOVELAS: AN AMERICAN STUDIES

The issue about gender equality seemed in its glory in all over the world. Women might enjoy the equality and even they had a chance to promote themselves to become the future woman leaders. Not even Mexican-American women who got the impacts of the movement of gender equality. However their telenovela show told the opposite. This study aimed to examine the female characters of telenovela through the language choices. This research wanted to prove that by having telenovela as the soap opera, Mexico had their female characters to be the subaltern which showed the inferiority toward male characters. The objects of the research were two newest telenovelas aired during 2015-2019: Vis a Vis (Locked Up) and Tiempos De Guerra (Morocco: Loves in Times of War). Descriptive qualitative method was used to comprehensively analyze the language choices by female characters in those three telenovelas. The study showed that although Mexican telenovela had improved their female characters to be the stronger ones, their language choices still depicted their inferiority toward male characters.