Helping an overweight child

2018 ◽  
pp. 109-120
Author(s):  
Rachel Pryke ◽  
Joe Harvey ◽  
Annabel Karmel
Keyword(s):  
2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
ELLEN ROME
Keyword(s):  

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Flax ◽  
Chrissie Thakwalakwa ◽  
Lindsay Jaacks ◽  
John Phuka

Abstract Objectives Overweight in mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa is rapidly increasing and may be related to body size preferences. The objective of this study was to measure mothers’ preferences for their own and their child's body size and how they relate to food choices. Methods We enrolled 271 mothers and their children (6–59 months) in Lilongwe and Kasungu Districts. Based on standard body-mass index and weight-for-height z-score cutoffs, 78 mothers (29%) were normal weight and 193 (71%) were overweight; 120 children (44%) were normal weight and 151 (56%) were overweight. Interviewers used a set of 7 adult female and 7 child body silhouette drawings and a semi-structured question guide to measure mothers’ perceptions of their own and their child's preferred and healthy body sizes and how their preferences affected food choices. We performed chi-squared tests comparing body size perceptions and grouped open-ended responses by weight status. Results Mothers’ selection of silhouettes that represented their body size preferences (67% normal weight, 68% overweight preferred overweight) and perceptions of a healthy body size (96% normal weight, 94% overweight selected overweight as healthy) did not differ by their weight status. A higher percentage of mothers of overweight than normal weight children preferred overweight child body sizes (70% vs. 48%, P = 0.003). Mothers’ perceptions of a healthy child body size (89% normal weight, 94% overweight selected overweight as healthy) did not differ by the child's weight status. To attain a larger body size, mothers said they could eat or feed the child larger quantities or more frequently and increase consumption of fatty/oily foods and drinks (such as sodas, sweetened yoghurt, and milk), but many cannot afford to do this. Conclusions Malawian mothers had strong preferences for overweight body sizes for themselves and mixed preferences for their children. Their desired strategies for increasing weight indicate that body size preferences may drive food choice but could be limited by cost. Funding Sources Drivers of Food Choice (DFC) Competitive Grants Program, funded by the UK Government's Department for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and managed by the University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Carvalho ◽  
Elizabeth Johnson ◽  
Merel Kozlosky ◽  
Ann O. Scheimann

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Resul Cesur ◽  
Inas Rashad Kelly

While the effects of low birth weight have long been explored, the literature on the effects of high birth weight is sparse. However, with increasing obesity rates in the United States, high birth weight has become a potential concern, and has been associated in the medical literature with an increased likelihood of becoming an overweight child, adolescent, and subsequently an obese adult. Overweight and obesity, in turn, are associated with a host of negative effects, including lower test scores in school and lower labor market prospects when adults. If studies only focus on low birth weight, they may underestimate the effects of ensuring that mothers receive adequate support during pregnancy. This study finds that cognitive outcomes are adversely affected not only by low birth weight (<2500 grams) but also by high birth weight (>4500 grams). Our results have policy implications in terms of provision of support for pregnant women.


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