Barriers to Behavior Change in Parents With Overweight or Obese Children: A Qualitative Interview Study
Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents are global problems of our time. Due to their authority and role modeling, parents play an essential part in the efficacy of prevention and intervention programs. This study assessed the barriers that parents of overweight/obese children face in...
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Published in | Frontiers in psychology Vol. 12; p. 631678 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
Frontiers Media S.A
26.03.2021
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents are global problems of our time. Due to their authority and role modeling, parents play an essential part in the efficacy of prevention and intervention programs. This study assessed the barriers that parents of overweight/obese children face in preventive and interventional health care utilization. Sixteen parents were qualitatively interviewed. A content analysis was performed, and barriers to change were allocated to their stage of change according to the transtheoretical model. Among the main barriers is the underestimation of health risks caused by overweight/obesity in association with diminished problem awareness. Parents seem not necessarily in need of theoretical knowledge for prevention and interventions. They do however need support in evaluating the weight status of their child and the knowledge of whom to turn to for help as well as specific and hands-on possibilities for change. The results extend past studies by adding specific barriers to change that parents commonly experience. Possibilities to address these barriers, e.g., through trainings at the pediatric practice or adoption of conversation techniques, are discussed. Future studies might identify subgroups experiencing specific barriers and thus be able to address these in an individualized way. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Reviewed by: Melissa Christine Davis, Edith Cowan University, Australia; Miriam Patricia Félix Alcántara, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Spain Edited by: Ana Rosa Sepúlveda, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain This article was submitted to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology |
ISSN: | 1664-1078 1664-1078 |
DOI: | 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.631678 |