Parents' prescription for providers: What fathers are saying about preventing childhood overweight

To combat the childhood overweight epidemic, it is essential that effective dialogue occurs between health care providers and African American, Hispanic, and Caucasian parents. Providers usually focus their communication with mothers, but fathers have an underappreciated role. As part of the formative assessment phase, focus groups were conducted with fathers to inform the development of Kids Eating Smart and Moving More, a 2-year, interdisciplinary, multi-clinic randomized trial. Participants from diverse educational and economic backgrounds were recruited from North Carolina. A total of 4 focus groups with 24 fathers were conducted with African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic fathers to assess experiences and perceptions of relationships with providers regarding obesity prevention. The findings revealed several common themes among African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic fathers. They expressed a strong desire to be more involved in their child's health care. Yet fathers generally felt left out during appointments as providers tended to focus more on mothers. Likewise, fathers talked about the need to establish rapport by speaking the language of the people; the importance of the provider's tone and the context in which the conversation occurs; and ensuring that their parenting skills are not criticized. Lastly fathers said that they were more open to talking about nutrition and physical activity if it was framed within the context of health or medical issues. Providers will benefit by understanding that fathers want and do have a role in preventing childhood obesity. This may help them to start difficult conversations more effectively and stop a growing epidemic.