Children's perceptions of obesity as explained by the common sense model of illness representation

Abstract

Purpose -The aim of this paper is to qualitatively examine the ways in which primary school children, aged between 7 and 12, perceive various facets of obesity as defined by the common sense model of illness representation (CCM). Design/methodology/approach -The study was qualitative in nature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 children on all dimensions of the CSM. Twenty four children were normal weight and nine were overweight. A drawing task formed the methodology for the "identity" section of the interview. Findings -Although children identified food intake as a main cause of obesity, almost half did not name sedentary behaviours as a cause of obesity. Duration (timeline) of obesity was regarded by most children as reliant on a person's undertaking of positive health behaviours. Normal weight children were found to list more severe consequences of obesity than the overweight group. It was found that experience contributed to the detailed knowledge of overweight children's perceptions of cures of obesity. Overweight children also spoke of personal incidents of barriers to cures. Practical imlications -The findings suggest that the CSMs can be used to classify children's perceptions of obesity. Future childhood obesity interventions can utilise these findings to create campaigns and strategies that are more consistent with children's understandings of this condition. Originality/value -To the authors' knowledge, no previous study has examined children's perceptions of obesity beyond perceived causes.

Accuracy of Self-Reported Height and Weight in Children Aged 6 to11 Years

“…However, our results also indicate that children younger than fifth grade cannot accurately self-report their weight or height. The inability of younger children to accurately self-report height and weight may be due to factors such as perceptual limitations ( 9 ), social desirability ( 3 , 10 ), socioeconomic status ( 11 ), or exposure to overweight and obesity, which may lead to misperceptions of weight status ( 12 ). Future studies should focus on the potential effect of such variables on children’s self-report accuracy.…”

Adolescents’ Perspectives on Personal and Societal Responsibility for Childhood Obesity — The Study of Beliefs through ‘Serious’ Game (PlayDecide)

“…as controllable or non‐controllable) affect their attitudes towards overweight and obese children (e.g. Babooram and others, ; Fitzgerald and others, ; Rees and others, ). Some studies have examined the experiences of overweight and obese young people who are living with overweight and discriminatory practices (Eriksen and Manke, ; Li and Rukavina, ; Wills and others, ).…”

Applying a Common-Sense Approach to Fighting Obesity

“…The authors suggest that GPs' stronger beliefs in behavioral treatments may actually inhibit them from counseling patients on weight loss: they may think it is not within their purview. Another study [ 35 ] found a high level of incoherence between beliefs about obesity and treatment among children—these children did not see inactivity as a cause for obesity, but did view increases in activity as treatment. It is possible that GPs may avoid confronting these discrepancies to avoid conflict and being seen as “blaming the patient.”…”