The Role of Women in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity

• Elena Bastida, Ph.D.• Department of Health Promotion• Florida International University

• Miami, Florida

Understanding the Changing Roles of women within the Family

• In order to understand the role of women in childhood obesity it behooves us to place women as daughters, mothers and grandmothers within the changing roles of women in society.

• In order to understand these changes it is important to embed these roles within the social structure.

Possible Topics for Discussion• Social Structural Change (Social Determinants)• In order to understand social determinants, we need to situate these

within much broader changes in the social structure of modern societies.

• Social Structural Changes: Family (Life Course and reproductive) Economic (Major changes in economic production, advanced

technology, increased consumption, changes in the structure of work, segmentation of labor markets, increased inclusion of women in the economy)Demographic

Environmental/Economic: Increases in Levels of energy availability (fat and sugar availability)

Parallel Changes in the Normative Structure of Society

• As the Social Structure Changes, the cultural system also changes: modifies, adapts, improvises.

• Cultural norms evolve and the Life Course evolves as well.

• Notions of Family Regulation, Self Regulation also evolve.

• All these elements must be recognized when designing and implementing Interventions that aim at Behavior Modification, whether individual or group.

The Role of the Family in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity

• Family Regulatory Role: Is there a Breakdown that impedes regulation?• Has the Status of Childhood

Changed? • Is there an increased in

Childhood Autonomy?

•

Social Change and the Family

• Changes in Filial Norms• Changes in Gender Norms• Changes in Family Roles• Changes in Gender Roles• Changes in Parental Roles• Changes in Children’s Roles

Changes in the Lifecourse

• Changes in the Structure of the Family• Lead to Changes in the Life Course• Changes in the Life Course of Men and

Women• Changes in Reproductive Norms• The Role of the Grandmother

Women: the Family & Reproductive Life Course

Daughters Infancy

ChildhoodAdolescenceEarly Adulthood Targeted by intervention

Mothers Young Adulthood Targeted by intervention

Middle Adulthood Targeted by intervention

GrandmothersMiddle Adulthood Targeted by InterventionLate Adulthood (Third Age) Targeted by Intervention

The Beyond Sabor• A Community Based Intervention• Uses the Principles of Participatory Research• Involves the Family: Targets the family unit• Population Based: Mexican Americans in South Texas along the

Mexican Border• Three time points: Baseline, Post test- 14 weeks; Follow up at 40

weeks• Funded by the National Institutes of Health: 8 year Study• Currently we are completing the Intervention Phase• Entering the Dissemination Phase

Intervention Recognizes the Importance of Multiple Generation Families

• Three and Four Generation Families have increased and become the norm

• Seeks to Involve the Mother, Father and Grandparents;• Grandmothers as Caregivers of Grandchildren• The Top heavy family (China)

Global Prevalence of Obesity in 2010

Developing countries

Developed countries

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

35

42

Obese children < 5 years Old from 144 countries

MillionsSource: World Health Organization, 2010

Children Adolescents Adults0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

36 %40 %

80 %Overweight Population in Aruba by Age Groups

%

Source: Personal Communication with Dr. Angel Caballero, 2012

•Thank You