@article{8ca514b2814a4021862cea644faba2a1,
title = "Early-childhood obesity: How do low-income parents of preschoolers rank known risk factors?",
abstract = "Objectives. To determine parental rankings of known factors related to early-childhood obesity and compare reports between parents of healthy weight and overweight children. Methods. Parents of 2- to 5-year-old children seeking well-child care ranked card-sort statements including risks, barriers, and motivating factors for achieving a healthy weight child. Frequencies and means of ranked factors are reported and compared. Results. Of the 150 participants, few parents (7.4\%) considered low levels of physical activity a top risk factor compared with other known risks. Inability to control the food choices of alternate caregivers was the greatest perceived barrier to achieving a healthy child weight (34\%). There were no differences in rankings by child weight groups. Conclusion. Low-income parents of preschoolers are aware of high-risk feeding behaviors, but few recognize the risk of inactivity in their young child. Innovations that promote adequate physical activity and engage influential caregivers during counseling are necessary.",
keywords = "card sort, motivational interviewing, obesity, parental values, preschoolers",
author = "Hernandez, \{Raquel G.\} and Thompson, \{Darcy A.\} and Cheng, \{Tina L.\} and Serwint, \{Janet R.\}",
note = "Funding Information: Parents of preschoolers are aware of high-risk feeding behaviors; however, they do not prioritize physical activity as a risk factor for their child relative to dietary factors. This suggests a need for more focused education regarding age-appropriate activity goals and limits on sedentary behavior during health counseling and in other educational efforts. Parents also identified their inability to control the food choices of other caretakers as a barrier to healthy eating. Supporting parents in their efforts to engage other influential caregivers in weight-related goals for young children should also become a more consistent approach. This may aid parents to address their perceived inability to control the food choices of alternate caretakers. Interventions to broaden the reach of anticipatory guidance regarding nutrition to such caretakers need further study and action. We would like to thank our research staff including Frances Harris, Jasmine Ainetchian, Robyn Nuttall and Anne Shippen for the dedication and work on this project. Thanks also to Katie Guice for her thoughts and perspectives on the manuscript. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The Thomas Wilson Sanitarium for Children of Baltimore City, Baltimore, MD. Principal investigator: Janet R. Serwint. ",
year = "2012",
month = jul,
doi = "10.1177/0009922812440841",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "51",
pages = "663--670",
journal = "Clinical pediatrics",
issn = "0009-9228",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "7",
}