title: Attitudes, practices, and concerns about child feeding and child weight status among socioeconomically diverse white, Hispanic, and African-American mothers.
abstract: Parents play an important role in the development of their children's eating behaviors. We conducted 12 focus groups (three white, three African-American, and three Hispanic-American low-income groups; three white middle-income groups) of mothers (N=101) of 2- to less than 5-year-old children to explore maternal attitudes, concerns, and practices related to child feeding and perceptions about child weight. We identified the following major themes from responses to our standardized focus group guide: 12 groups wanted to provide good nutrition, and most wanted children to avoid eating too many sweets and processed foods; 12 groups prepared foods their children liked, accommodated specific requests, and used bribes and rewards to accomplish their feeding goals (sweets were commonly used as bribes, rewards, or pacifiers); and 11 of 12 groups believed their children were prevaricating when they said they were full and mothers encouraged them to eat more. The common use of strategies that may not promote healthful weight suggests work is needed to develop culturally and socioeconomically effective overweight prevention programs. Further study is needed to verify racial/ethnic or income differences in attitudes, practices, and concerns about child feeding and perceptions of child weight.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Atlanta, GA 30341-3717, USA. bsherry@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Bettylou
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sherry
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McDivitt
authors.forename: Leann Lipps
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.forename: Frances Hanks
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Jennifer Lynn
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Prish
authors.forename: Lori Ann
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: Kelley Sean
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Scanlon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012923:Social Class; D044465:White People