Person:

Blaine, Rachel

Introduction: The etiology of childhood obesity is multidimensional and includes individual, familial, organizational, and societal factors. Policymakers and researchers are promoting social–ecological approaches to obesity prevention that encompass multiple community sectors. Programs that successfully engage low-income families in making healthy choices are greatly needed, yet little is known about the extent to which stakeholders understand the complexity of barriers encountered by families. The objective of this study was to contextually frame barriers faced by low-income families reported by community stakeholders by using the Family Ecological Model (FEM). Methods: From 2012 through 2013, we conducted semistructured interviews with 39 stakeholders from 2 communities in Massachusetts that were participating in a multisector intervention for childhood obesity prevention. Stakeholders represented schools; afterschool programs; health care; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and early care and education. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and summarized. Results: Stakeholder reports of the barriers experienced by low-income families had a strong degree of overlap with FEM and reflected awareness of the broader contextual factors (eg, availability of community resources, family culture, education) and social and emotional dynamics within families (eg, parent knowledge, social norms, distrust of health care providers, chronic life stressors) that could affect family adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors. Furthermore, results illustrated a level of consistency in stakeholder awareness across multiple community sectors. Conclusion: The congruity of stakeholder perspectives with those of low-income parents as summarized in FEM and across community sectors illustrates potential for synergizing the efforts necessary for multisector, multilevel community interventions for the prevention of childhood obesity.

Background: As children now spend increasing amounts of time in out-of-home care, care providers play an important role in promoting positive health behaviors. Little is currently known about providers’ perceptions and beliefs about physical activity, particularly for very young children. This study describes providers’ perceptions and beliefs about infants’ and toddlers’ physical activity, and assesses their knowledge of physical activity guidelines, to establish if and where providers may need support to promote physical activity in child care settings. Methods: We analyzed baseline data from a pilot randomized-controlled trial conducted in 32 child care centers in Massachusetts, USA. Providers completed physical activity-related questionnaires from which we compared twenty perception and belief questions for infant and toddler care providers. Results: 203 care providers (96% female, mean ± SD age: 32.7 ± 11.2 years) from 29 centers completed questionnaires. A large proportion of providers (n = 114 (61.9%)) believed that infants should be active for 45 minutes or less each day, and only 56 providers (29.7%) perceived toddlers to require more than 90 minutes of activity per day. 97% of providers perceived it was their job to ensure children engaged in a healthy amount of physical activity and most (94.1%) perceived physical activity to be important to own their health, despite 13.3% finding it hard to find the energy to be physically active. Conclusions: This study is the first to assess the physical activity perceptions and attitudes of providers caring for infants and toddlers. Though all providers believed toddlers should engage in more physical activity than infants, most providers believed that young children require only a short amount of physical activity each day, below recommended guidelines. How provider perceptions influence children’s physical activity behavior requires investigation.

Children’s diet is a key driver of childhood obesity, and thus understanding the role of caregivers in mediating the frequency and content of foods offered to children is critical to developing population-based interventions to support healthy behaviors. The main objective of this thesis is to describe multi-ethnic caregiver feeding practices in the context of childhood feeding recommendations through three studies. The first study presents cross-sectional survey data on the feeding practices of n=166 infant/toddler child care providers serving minority children in Boston, examining their adherence to current feeding guidelines. In multivariable analysis, center Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participation was associated with providers sitting with children at meals (OR=5.2; 95% CI 1.2-21.7), offering fruits and vegetables (OR=3.3; 95% CI 1.7-6.2), and limiting fast food (OR=3.5; 95% CI 1.8-6.7). These findings suggest that CACFP participation may encourage positive feeding behaviors among child care providers. Next, using qualitative in-depth interview data (n=47) low-income multi-ethnic caregivers’ conceptualizations of preschoolers’ snacking in the context of television (TV) viewing are described. Using schema theory to frame data analysis, interview transcripts were coded using the constant comparative method and emergent themes identified. TV viewing was an important component of caregivers’ schemas around child snacking, as they were aware of and accommodated preschoolers’ snacking and TV viewing which was described as routine, positive, and useful for non-nutritive purposes such as family bonding and managing children’s behavior. Finally, cross-sectional survey data from n=271 low-income parents of multi-ethnic children (2-12 years) is presented to identify both reasons and frequency that children receive snacks and the association between these reasons and children’s diet. Using multivariate logistic regression, children were significantly less likely to adhere to dietary recommendations (e.g. soda, fruit/vegetable consumption) when parents offered snacks for non-nutritive reasons like rewarding behavior (OR=0.83; 95% CI 0.70-0.99), celebrating events/holidays (OR=0.72; 95% CI 0.52-0.99), or achievements (OR=0.82; 95% CI 0.68-0.98). For caregivers/parents, public health messages should encourage “screen free” snacking, healthy snack options, and guidance for managing children’s behavior without using snacks or TV. Future research should explore ways to promote child-centered feeding practices both in child care and at home.