How is Overweight and Obesity of the Pre-school Child regarded by the Family and the Community?

Abstract

The objective of this qualitative research was to explore how families’ and communities’ regard overweight
and obesity of children 3 to 5 years old. Information was obtained by observations, in-depth interviews, group
discussions and documentations. Participants included 47 parents, 8 teachers, 3 municipality officers, and 7 public
health officers. All of them were residents of the urban area of the Petchabun province. The study was conducted
for 17 months from 2007 to 2008. The findings were assessed by content analysis.
Results revealed that obesity and over nutrition are mainly due to the way parents raise their children. For
quite a number of mothers and fathers an overnourished or even obese child is an indication that the child is well
cared for. This sort of attitude was often found for prosperous families. However a contrary point of view had been
expressed as well in that overnourished and obese children were regarded as being mistreated. Some families
considered their child’s obesity as a private matter and refused to discuss this further on. Public health officers
found that it is difficult but not impossible to work against child’s overnutrition and obesity. School teachers are
often of the opinion that obese children are easy to care for. When families had been asked to describe the
feature of an obese child some of them considered the child as healthy, cute, cheerful and happy. Other families
attributed overnutrition and obesity with being slow in daily activities, having uncontrolled urinary problems, and
are unhealthy. Often it was stated that in general overnourished and obese children are doing fine and that they
will be slimmer when they grow up.