Abstract
This study aimed to explore the attitudes and behaviors of Latino mothers around feeding
their children. Using qualitative methods, we conducted four focus groups in Spanish
with 41 Latino mothers of elementary school-age children in San Diego County, CA.
Latino mothers' mean age was 41 years; 90% were foreign-born; and 74% had a high school
education or less. We explored cultural viewpoints around feeding and cooking and
feeding strategies used. Focus groups were analyzed based on a priori and emergent
themes. The following themes around feeding emerged: feeding attitudes central to
the maternal responsibility of having well-fed children and feeding behaviors that
centered on cooking methods, supportive behaviors, and reinforcement strategies for
“eating well.” These findings increase our understanding of the Latino maternal role
to feed children and can help to inform more culturally appropriate research to effectively
address nutritional issues and obesity prevention in Latino children.
Keywords
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Biography
S. M. Martinez is a postdoctoral scholar, University of California, San Francisco; at the time of the study, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla.
Biography
K. Rhee is an assistant professor of pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla.
Biography
E. Blanco is a research coordinator, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla.
Biography
K. Boutelle is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 04, 2013
Accepted:
September 26,
2013
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This pilot study was funded by University of California, San Diego, Child Development and Community Health (UCSD CDCH) 2011 1952 02 and supported in part by the following grants from the National Institutes of Health: HL088530 and K23HD057299. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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