title: Use of a tool to determine perceived barriers to children's healthy eating and physical activity and relationships to health behaviors.
abstract: This pilot investigation assesses whether barriers to children's healthy eating and physical activity reported by parents on a newly developed brief pediatric obesity screening and counseling tool are related to healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. The sample included parents of 115 Medicaid-enrolled children in a general pediatric clinic. Of 10 barriers, 7 were statistically associated with parent-reported behaviors with odds ratios (ORs) ranging from 0.6 to 9.4. Relationships remained significant when child characteristics were controlled in the analysis. Although additional testing is needed, the tool provides clinicians with an approach to identify barriers and behaviors for targeted counseling.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, School of Nursing, Health Care Systems, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. jvann@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Julie C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jacobson Vann
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Finkle
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ammerman
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wegner
authors.forename: Asheley Cockrell
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Eliana M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Perrin
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004032:Diet; D037001:Directive Counseling; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000295:instrumentation*; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010865:Pilot Projects