Parental Influences on Obesity Among Mexican American Children

描述（由申请人提供）：在过去的几十年里，美国儿童中超重的患病率显著增加。拉丁裔儿童特别容易超重。超重的儿童患高血压、高脂血症、冠状动脉疾病和2型糖尿病的风险增加。儿童超重部分是由于行为因素造成的，但导致拉丁裔儿童超重的具体行为因素尚不清楚。父母的行为被认为对儿童肥胖有重要影响，但迄今为止，大多数研究都只调查了一小部分父母的行为。此外，很少有研究关注拉丁裔儿童。迫切需要进行更全面的研究，阐明父母行为的多个方面如何影响拉丁裔儿童的超重，并考虑拉丁裔儿童饮食摄入和体重加速增加发生的社会经济和文化背景。这项纵向研究将集中在墨西哥裔美国人身上，他们构成了美国最大的拉丁裔群体。这项研究将检查父母和家庭成员的行为是促进还是防止墨西哥裔美国儿童肥胖的。这项研究将特别关注父母和家庭成员的饮食相关行为，包括儿童喂养方式、父母的饮食模式和家庭聚餐。该研究将(a)评估父母和大家庭成员的饮食相关行为是否能预测儿童的饮食摄入量；(b)评估父母和大家庭成员的行为是否可以预测儿童的体重状况，并以儿童的饮食摄入量为中介；(c)考察社会经济地位和文化因素对父母行为的影响。需要研究的具体文化因素包括大家庭的支持、对食物的看法和对孩子体型的偏好。在这项纵向研究中，我们将从一家大型HMO的会员名单中招募376名年龄在8-9岁的墨西哥裔美国儿童及其父母。在为期两年的年度家访中，我们将对母亲、父亲和孩子进行访谈和评估。我们将获得关于儿童喂养做法的自我报告和观察性评估。我们将使用最先进的方法来测量饮食摄入量，身体活动，并获得人体测量数据。该研究将为针对墨西哥裔美国儿童肥胖的以家庭为中心的行为干预提供重要信息，特别是关于影响肥胖发展的父母行为。此外，通过考虑与父母行为相关的社会经济地位和文化因素，该研究将为提高未来干预的文化能力提供关键信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The prevalence of overweight among children in the United States has increased markedly during the past several decades. Latino children are at particular risk of overweight. Children who are overweight are at increased risk of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, and type 2 diabetes. Childhood overweight is partially due to behavioral factors, but the specific behavioral factors contributing to overweight among Latino children are poorly understood. Parental behaviors are thought to be important influences, on children's obesity, but most studies to date have examined a narrow range of parental behaviors. Moreover, few studies have focused on Latino children. There is an urgent need for more comprehensive research that elucidates the ways in which multiple aspects of parents' behaviors influence overweight among Latino children, and which considers the socioeconomic and cultural contexts in which Latino children's dietary intake and accelerated weight gain occur. This longitudinal study will focus on Mexican Americans, who constitute the largest Latino group in the U.S. The research will examine parental and family member behaviors that promote or protect against obesity among Mexican American children. The study will particularly focus on parental and family members' dietary-related behaviors, including child-feeding practices, parental modeling of eating, and family meals. The research will (a) assess whether parental and extended family members' dietary-related behaviors predict children's dietary intake; (b) assess whether parental and extended family members' behaviors predict children's weight status, mediated by children's dietary intake; and (c) examine the effects of socioeconomic status and cultural factors on parental behaviors. Specific cultural factors to be examined include extended family support, perceptions of food, and preferred child body size. For this longitudinal research, we will recruit 376 Mexican American children, ages 8-9, and their parents, from the membership lists of a large HMO. At annual home visits over a two- year period, we will interview and assess mothers, fathers, and children. We will obtain both self-report and observational assessments of child-feeding practices.; We will utilize state-of-the-art methods to measure dietary intake, physical activity, and obtain anthropometric data. The study will provide vital information for family-focused behavioral interventions targeting obesity among Mexican American children, particularly regarding parental behaviors that influence the development of obesity. Moreover, the research will provide critical information to improve the cultural competence of future interventions, by taking into account both SES and cultural factors that are related to parents' behaviors.