9/12/2023 0 Comments 3 month old black baby boy‘normal,’ concerns about infant health, interactions with medical Rather, peer- and community-based ideas of Sample do not uniformly subscribe to the idea that “bigger is better” Our findings suggest that, in contrast toīiomedical assumption of a single cultural model, the African-American mothers in our On the multiple factors influencing mothers’ models of child growth is importantįor understanding how mothers assess ‘normal’ and Others in the community and, whether in addition to infant size, mothers’Ĭoncerns about infant growth, diet, and health influence their assessments. We examine how mothers assess the relative size of their infants compared to Perceptions of infant weight status within an ecocultural framework ( Weisner 2002), positing that mothers’Īssessments derive from personal experiences that are socially-constructed andĬontextualized in response to their social, cultural, and physical environments (JamesĢ003). Using quantitative and qualitative data from a sample of low-incomeĪfrican-American mothers from central North Carolina, we explore mothers’ ![]() Growth are conceptualized and understood. Presumed cultural preference for larger infants to understand how child weight and Such an anthropological focus is critical for goingīeyond the biomedical model of “blaming and shaming” ( Moffat 2010) African-American mothers’ On maternal perceptions of infant overweight or how these perceptions are depicted in James 1993), anthropologists have not focused Understandings of child growth and development are informed by class, locality, andĬultural context ( Hadley, Patil, and Gulas 2010 Interests in the symbolic meanings of body weight ( Brown That African-American and Hispanic mothers may prefer larger infants has led someīiomedical researchers to label childhood obesity “a sociocultural ‘failures’ of low-income and minority mothers to correctly identifyĬhild weight status have been portrayed as a barrier to - or even a potential cause of Overweight or obese, or have low levels of income or education. 2008) yet, misclassification is widelyĬonsidered more likely if mothers are African-American or Hispanic, are themselves Physicians are particularly good at identifying overweight ( Chaimovitz et al. Much evidence documents that neither mothers nor many Problem requiring intervention ( Doolen, Alpert, and Parents correctly identify overweight in infants and toddlers or recognize it as a With this new focus on preventing overweight, concerns have been raised that few Has shifted from promoting infant weight gain to preventing overweight. Obesity and weight-related health problems in even young children ( Adair 2008), however, biomedical concern in high-income countries With the increasing prevalence of overweight and With preventing failure to thrive and low weight gain ( Holub and Dolan 2012). Consequently, parents and physicians have traditionally been concerned Mortality from a range of illnesses ( Caulfield et al.Ģ004). Larger infant size has served as a marker of healthy growth ( Timmermans and Buchbinder 2012 Lampl and Thompson 2007), since low weight-for-age is associated with higher Improved survival during weaning ( Kuzawa 1998 Larger infant size has been portrayed as an adaptation promoting parental investment and Young child size has long received attention in both biocultural anthropology andīiomedicine ( Ritenbaugh 1991). The idea that “bigger is better” when it comes to infant and ‘abnormal’ infant weight is critical for shaping appropriate and An anthropological focus on the complex social and structuralįactors shaping what is considered ‘normal’ and These findings suggest that mothers use multiple models to interpret and respond Interactions with biomedicine, and concerns about infant health and sufficiency. Infants’ cues, local and societal norms of appropriate size, Qualitative analysis documents that mothers are concerned with theirĬhildren’s weight status and assess size in relation to their Size change with infant age, are sensitive to the size of other infants in theĬommunity, and are associated with concerns over health and appetite. Our quantitative results document that mothers’ perceptions of infant How they define ‘normal’ infant growth and infant overweight. Misperception as a “socio-cultural problem.” We use qualitativeĪnd quantitative data from 237 low-income, African-American mothers to explore Infant and toddler size or addressed biomedical depictions of maternal ![]() Sociocultural, economic or structural factors shaping maternal perceptions of Little anthropological research has examined the ![]() Increasing rates of overweight and obesity, particularly among low-income or Inability to recognize infant and toddler overweight poses a barrier to stemming Biomedical researchers have raised concerns that mothers’
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