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Perspectives on obesity and barriers to control from workers at a community center serving low-income Hispanic children and families.

Chatterjee N, Blakely DE, Barton C

Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4243, USA. nilesh@hlkn.tamu.edu

Community center workers serving children and families in a predominantly Hispanic, low-income neighborhood were interviewed qualitatively, to ascertain their perspectives on obesity and barriers to control and prevention, to design a practical and culturally appropriate intervention for obesity control. All 19 respondents recognized obesity as a problem, identified healthy eating and physical activity as requisites for controlling obesity, and mentioned fast food and cultural influences in Hispanic families as contributory factors. Lack of time emerged as a major barrier to all preventive practices related to eating healthy or being physically active. Safety concerns and lack of safe places for walking and running were mentioned as a barrier to being physically active. Further studies have to be conducted with parents of at-risk children, to understand time constraints. Community health workers should be sensitive to issues of time constraints and incorporate time management recommendations into obesity prevention and education.

Published 7 February 2005 in J Community Health Nurs, 22(1): 23-36.
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