Article
Childhood Obesity: An Examination of Rural School Stakeholders' and Parents' Beliefs.
Childhood Obesity: An Examination of Rural School Stakeholders' and Parents' Beliefs.
(2016)
Abstract
Background: Parents and teachers are important models in children's lives, but linking nutrition and health education across home and school remains a challenge. With the high prevalence of obesity in children, school stakeholders should be engaged in the process of assessment to assist in identifying possible solutions. Methods: This study compared school stakeholders' and parents' perceptions toward childhood obesity. Thirty-nine (N=39) school stakeholders and one hundred (N=l00) parents with children in the fourth grade were purposefully selected to participate in structured interviews or focus groups. Research questions were formulated to obtain information regarding awareness of childhood obesity, overall nutrition knowledge, perceptions of the contributors to the obesity problem, and perceptions of possible barriers to alleviating obesity. Responses from the interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using Atlas Ti. Results: Both categories of participants acknowledged obesity as a major problem among young children. The consensus among the school stakeholders was that there are inconsistencies in the messages transmitted by the home and school. The findings also revealed that limited nutrition education in the home and school, coupled with lack of parental involvement, low-income status, and parental denial contributed to children being overweight or obese. Conclusion: This study reiterates the need to utilize a multidimensional approach in the fight against childhood obesity. Community health workers and school administrators need to work at achieving unanimity in the nutrition messages being communicated in the home and school.
Disciplines
Publication Date
April, 2016
Citation Information
Sharon McWhinney, Andrea McDonald, Lenna Dawkins-Moultin and E. Lisako Jones McKyer. "Childhood Obesity: An Examination of Rural School Stakeholders' and Parents' Beliefs." Childhood Obesity: An Examination of Rural School Stakeholders' and Parents' Beliefs. Vol. 68 Iss. 2 (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sharon-mcwhinney/7/
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