A qualitative study conducted in the USA exploring Latino fathers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to their young children’s eating, physical activity and sedentary behaviours

Abstract

Objective: Increasing evidence documents fathers' influential role in their children's eating, physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SB). We aimed to expand limited existing research examining fathers' influence in these areas by exploring Latino fathers' beliefs, attitudes and practices related to eating, PA and SB of their young children. Design: Seven focus group discussions were conducted in Spanish with Latino fathers (n 28) of children aged 2-8 years. Audio recordings were transcribed and translated verbatim without identifiers. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify key concepts and themes using NVivo 11 software. Results: Fathers expressed positive beliefs and attitudes about the importance of healthy eating for their young children, themselves and their families. Nevertheless, the majority reported familial practices including eating out, getting takeout, etc. that have been linked to increased obesity risk among Latino children. Fathers were more involved and engaged in children's PA than eating and feeding. However, several fathers reported engaging predominantly in sedentary activities with their children, appeared permissive of children's sedentary habits and struggled to set limits on children's screen-time.Conclusions: We provide new information on Latino fathers' beliefs and child feeding and PA practices that may provide important targets for interventions aimed at promoting healthful eating and PA behaviours of Latino children. Future research should further quantify the influence of Latino fathers' parenting styles and practices on development of children's eating, PA and SB. This information is needed to identify risk factors amenable to interventions and to design culturally appropriate parenting and family-based interventions targeting Latino children's home environment and designed to meet this ethnic group's specific needs.

“If You Let Them, They Will Be on It 24 Hours a Day”: Qualitative Study Conducted in the United States Exploring Brazilian Immigrant Mothers’ Beliefs, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Screen Time Behaviors of Their Preschool-Age Children (Preprint)

“…This is consistent with previous qualitative research, including our own, and indicates the importance of the family within Latino communities [28,30,50,51]. It also suggests that the family should be considered the unit of change and that interventions focusing on promoting healthy ST will likely be more successful if they consider the entire family unit, including adults (e.g., both parents, other relatives such as grandmothers) and children (younger and older children).…”

“…Although more research is needed, it is worth noting that mothers participating in the present study reported that their husbands did not perceive their young children's ST behaviors as problematic and expressed minimal or no concerns for their preschoolaged children's ST. Additionally, most mothers reported their husbands watched TV and played video games with their children, which is consistent with prior research conducted among other populations [50,61]. This is important as research shows that children have increased ST when parents have ST themselves [50,[61][62][63][64].…”

“…This is important as research shows that children have increased ST when parents have ST themselves [50,[61][62][63][64]. A qualitative study conducted in the U.K. found that children whose parents engaged in ST with them had more ST than children whose parents prioritized and engaged with them in non-SV behaviors for relaxation and family time [36].…”

Central American Immigrant Parents’ Awareness, Acceptability, and Willingness to Vaccinate Their Adolescent Children Against Human Papillomavirus: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study

“…Parents were eligible to participate if they: (a) self-identified as Central American; (b) had at least one child aged 11-19 years; (c) lived in MA or RI; and (d) had resided in the US for at least 12 months. We recruited participants using strategies successfully employed in our previous studies with similar Latino populations, and these included: (1) posting flyers inside local Latino businesses, and community-based social and health services agencies, and (2) making announcement and posting flyers at predominantly Spanish-speaking churches [30][31][32][33][34]. Interested individuals spoke to study staff at church events or called the telephone number listed on the flyers disseminated at local Latino businesses, community-based social and health services agencies, and churches.…”

Latino adolescent-father discrepancies in reporting activity parenting practices and associations with adolescents’ physical activity and screen time

“…Qualitative studies found that Latino fathers valued the health and developmental benefits of physical activity and applied a variety of practices to engage in physical activity with their children and limit screen time [18][19][20]. However, Latino adolescents' perceptions of their fathers' parenting practices may differ from their fathers' perceptions.…”