Context: Most mothers of overweight preschoolers do not feel their children are overweight. Though nutrition counseling efforts in WIC target childhood obesity, new strategies must be considered to address this gap between provider and client perception.
Objective: To explore WIC health professionals’ (HPs) perceptions about the challenges that exist in preventing and managing childhood obesity.
Design: Three focus groups were conducted with a total of 19 HPs who provide nutrition counseling or staff supervision in Kentucky WIC.
Results: The major themes were: 1. HPs counsel by standardized protocols rather than by individualizing counseling. 2. HPs are concerned about offending WIC clients. 3. Parents receive conflicting advice on nutrition and obesity. 4. The environmental context of families' lives makes obesity prevention a lower priority. 5. HPs perceive that parents: (a) are unmotivated and not committed to changes in their health behavior, (b) use food as a mechanism for coping with daily life stresses and as a tool when parenting, (c) have difficulty setting limits and disciplining their children, (d) lack knowledge about developmentally appropriate feeding, (e) provide socially desirable responses during nutrition counseling sessions, (f) don’t think their overweight children are overweight, and (g) want a “quick fix” to the problem of obesity.
Learning Objectives: To explore WIC health professionals’ (HPs) perceptions about the challenges that exist in preventing and managing childhood obesity.
Keywords: Child Health, Obesity
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.