title: Exploring relationships among maternal BMI, family factors, and concern for child's weight.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  in an effort to better understand child obesity, this study examined the association between family living location, family function, mother's body mass index (BMI), and mothers' attitudes and behaviors concerning child feeding. Recent research on obesity has shown there is limited information on family influence and parental perceptions and attitudes.
  
  
  METHODS
  a cross-sectional analysis was performed on data from 47 mothers of school-aged children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  urban African-American mothers had higher BMIs and were significantly more concerned about their child's weight status than rural white mothers. Additionally, maternal BMI was associated with the total number of individuals in the household.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  results suggest the importance in understanding the family and community and its influence on childhood obesity. Armed with knowledge about family factors and parents' beliefs and perceptions, nurses can develop interventions that can assist families and communities to focus on healthy children feeding and weight management.
authors.affiliation: Drexel University, School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA. payasn@gmail.com
authors.forename: Nydjie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Payas
authors.forename: Geraldine M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Budd
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polansky
mesh_terms: D044383:Black People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American