title: The Meaning of Weight: A Big Way of Life for Rural Mexican-American Adolescent Men and Caregivers.
abstract: To describe the meaning of body weight among rural Mexican-American adolescents (RMAA) and an influential person (IP) of their social network.
  
  
  
  This is qualitative descriptive study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit RMAA seeking care at a rural primary care-based clinic. Content analysis was used to identify categories and subcategories. Fifteen male adolescents and 14 IPs were interviewed (n = 29).
  
  
  
  Individual interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire.
  
  
  
  Participants described body weight through family norms, body size, and history of heart disease or diabetes. Cultural scripts were used to describe weight gain, judgment of size, and resource limitations.
  
  
  
  Health care providers must evaluate cultural scripts associated with body size to develop interventions that are derived from the meaning ascribed to weight status rather than simply based on evidence-based standards. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01387646.
authors.affiliation: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas. jen.collins@ttuhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas.
authors.forename: Donna C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.
authors.forename: Jane Dimmitt
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Champion
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight / Q000208:ethnology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: adolescent; body weight; family; perception; qualitative research