Skip to main content

Advertising Disclaimer »

Main menu

  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers
  • Other Publications
    • American Academy of Pediatrics

User menu

  • Log in

Search

  • Advanced search
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP Gateway

Advanced Search

AAP Logo

  • Log in
  • Journals
    • Pediatrics
    • Hospital Pediatrics
    • Pediatrics in Review
    • NeoReviews
    • AAP Grand Rounds
    • AAP News
  • Authors/Reviewers
    • Submit Manuscript
    • Author Guidelines
    • Reviewer Guidelines
    • Open Access
    • Editorial Policies
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Online First
    • Archive
    • Blogs
    • Topic/Program Collections
    • AAP Meeting Abstracts
  • Pediatric Collections
    • COVID-19
    • Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health
    • More Collections...
  • AAP Policy
  • Supplements
  • Multimedia
    • Video Abstracts
    • Pediatrics On Call Podcast
  • Subscribe
  • Alerts
  • Careers

Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics
Article

Why Don't Low-Income Mothers Worry About Their Preschoolers Being Overweight?

Anjali Jain, Susan N. Sherman, DPA; Leigh A. Chamberlin, Yvette Carter, Scott W. Powers and Robert C. Whitaker
Pediatrics May 2001, 107 (5) 1138-1146; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.107.5.1138
Anjali Jain
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Susan N. Sherman
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
DPA; Leigh A. Chamberlin
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Yvette Carter
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Scott W. Powers
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Robert C. Whitaker
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments
Loading

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Download PDF

Abstract

Context. Mothers are in an important position to prevent obesity in their children by shaping early diet and activity patterns. However, many mothers of overweight preschool children are not worried about their child's weight.

Objective. To explore mothers' perceptions about how they determine when a child is overweight, why children become overweight, and what barriers exist to preventing or managing childhood obesity.

Design. Three focus groups with 6 participants in each. Participant comments were transcribed and analyzed. Themes were coded independently by the 6 authors who then agreed on common themes.

Setting. A clinic of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Participants. Eighteen low-income mothers (13 black, 5 white) of preschool children (mean age of 44 months) who were at-risk for later obesity. All but 1 mother had a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2, and 12 mothers had a BMI ≥30 kg/m2. All but 1 child had a BMI ≥85th percentile for age and sex, and 7 had a BMI ≥95th percentile.

Results. Mothers did not define overweight or obese in their children according to how height and weight measurements were plotted on the standard growth charts used by health professionals. Instead, mothers were more likely to consider being teased about weight or developing limitations in physical activity as indicators of their child being overweight. Children were not believed to be overweight if they were active and had a healthy diet and/or a good appetite. Mothers described overweight children as thick or solid. Mothers believed that an inherited tendency to be overweight was likely to be expressed in the child regardless of environmental factors. In trying to shape their children's eating, mothers believed that their control over the child's diet was challenged by other family members. If a child was hungry, despite having just eaten, it was emotionally difficult for mothers to deny additional food.

Conclusions. Health professionals should not assume that defining overweight according to the growth charts has meaning for all mothers. Despite differing perceptions between mothers and health professionals about the definition of overweight, both groups agree that children should be physically active and have healthy diets. Health professionals may be more effective in preventing childhood obesity by focusing on these goals that they share with mothers, rather than on labeling children as overweight.

  • obesity
  • body weight
  • mothers
  • child
  • preschool
  • mother-child relations
  • Received July 26, 2000.
  • Accepted November 4, 2000.
  • Copyright © 2001 American Academy of Pediatrics

Individual Login

Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.

Institutional Login

via Institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your librarian or administrator if you do not have a username and password.

Log in through your institution

If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.

Pay Per Article - You may access this article (from the computer you are currently using) for 2 days for US$25.00

Regain Access - You can regain access to a recent Pay per Article purchase if your access period has not yet expired.

Offer Reprints

PreviousNext
Back to top

Advertising Disclaimer »

In this issue

Pediatrics
Vol. 107, Issue 5
1 May 2001
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
View this article with LENS
PreviousNext
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on American Academy of Pediatrics.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Why Don't Low-Income Mothers Worry About Their Preschoolers Being Overweight?
(Your Name) has sent you a message from American Academy of Pediatrics
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the American Academy of Pediatrics web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Request Permissions
Article Alerts
Log in
You will be redirected to aap.org to login or to create your account.
Or Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Why Don't Low-Income Mothers Worry About Their Preschoolers Being Overweight?
Anjali Jain, Susan N. Sherman, DPA; Leigh A. Chamberlin, Yvette Carter, Scott W. Powers, Robert C. Whitaker
Pediatrics May 2001, 107 (5) 1138-1146; DOI: 10.1542/peds.107.5.1138

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Why Don't Low-Income Mothers Worry About Their Preschoolers Being Overweight?
Anjali Jain, Susan N. Sherman, DPA; Leigh A. Chamberlin, Yvette Carter, Scott W. Powers, Robert C. Whitaker
Pediatrics May 2001, 107 (5) 1138-1146; DOI: 10.1542/peds.107.5.1138
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Print
Download PDF
Insight Alerts
  • Table of Contents

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • Footnotes
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Comments

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Does parental concern about their childs future risk of overweight vary by their ethnic background? Cross-sectional analysis of a national cohort study
  • The association between maternal perceptions of own weight status and weight status of her child: results from a national cohort study
  • "A little on the heavy side": a qualitative analysis of parents' and grandparents' perceptions of preschoolers' body weights
  • Feeding practices and child weight: is the association bidirectional in preschool children?
  • Generational Shift in Parental Perceptions of Overweight Among School-Aged Children
  • Parental Underestimates of Child Weight: A Meta-analysis
  • Associations between deprivation and rates of childhood overweight and obesity in England, 2007-2010: an ecological study
  • Evaluating Parents and Adult Caregivers as "Agents of Change" for Treating Obese Children: Evidence for Parent Behavior Change Strategies and Research Gaps: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
  • Household Routines and Obesity in US Preschool-Aged Children
  • Do Parents Understand Growth Charts? A National, Internet-Based Survey
  • Where All the Children Are Above Average
  • The Role of Culture in the Context of School-Based BMI Screening
  • Assessing BMI in West Virginia Schools: Parent Perspectives and the Influence of Context
  • Maternal Perception of Weight Status and Health Risks Associated With Obesity in Children
  • Two-year follow-up of an obesity prevention initiative in children: the APPLE project
  • Does social class predict diet quality?
  • Overweight and Obese Prevalence Rates in African American and Hispanic Children: An Analysis of Data from the 2003-2004 National Survey of Children's Health
  • Parents' journey through treatment for their child's obesity: a qualitative study
  • Expert Committee Recommendations Regarding the Prevention, Assessment, and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity: Summary Report
  • Are parents aware that their children are overweight or obese?: Do they care?
  • Parental Ability to Discriminate the Weight Status of Children: Results of a Survey
  • Childhood Obesity: Practical Considerations for Prevention and Management
  • Parents' Perceptions of Their Child's Weight and Health
  • Factors Associated With Parental Readiness to Make Changes for Overweight Children
  • Learning to overeat: maternal use of restrictive feeding practices promotes girls' eating in the absence of hunger
  • Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity
  • Maternal Perceptions of Weight Status of Children
  • Weight Criticism During Physical Activity, Coping Skills, and Reported Physical Activity in Children
  • Low income mothers of overweight children had personal and environmental challenges in preventing and managing obesity
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Patterns and Predictors of Professional Interpreter Use in the Pediatric Emergency Department
  • Romantic Relationships in Transgender Adolescents: A Qualitative Study
  • Predictive Models of Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Show more Article

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Obesity
    • Obesity
  • Endocrinology
    • Endocrinology
  • Journal Info
  • Editorial Board
  • Editorial Policies
  • Overview
  • Licensing Information
  • Authors/Reviewers
  • Author Guidelines
  • Submit My Manuscript
  • Open Access
  • Reviewer Guidelines
  • Librarians
  • Institutional Subscriptions
  • Usage Stats
  • Support
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Resources
  • Media Kit
  • About
  • International Access
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • FAQ
  • AAP.org
  • shopAAP
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Instagram
  • Visit American Academy of Pediatrics on Facebook
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Twitter
  • Follow American Academy of Pediatrics on Youtube
  • RSS
American Academy of Pediatrics

© 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics