Logo image
Back
The Sociocultural Context for Obesity Prevention and Treatment in Children and Adolescents: Influences of Ethnicity and Gender
Book chapter

The Sociocultural Context for Obesity Prevention and Treatment in Children and Adolescents: Influences of Ethnicity and Gender

Shiriki Kumanyika
Pediatric Obesity, pp 695-713
13 Oct 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68192-4_40

Abstract

Breastfeeding Ethnicity Family Health equity Race School Socioeconomic status
Obesity prevention and treatment ultimately involve changing individual eating and physical activity behaviors. These behaviors are strongly influenced by sociocultural variables (i.e., norms, values, and beliefs) and by aspects of related environmental contexts (i.e., physical and economic characteristics, policies, and practices) in communities, homes, schools, and media environments. The focus of this chapter is on how these factors influence the ability to effectively prevent and treat obesity in several US ethnic minority populations with above-average obesity prevalence: African or black Americans, Hispanic or Latino Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Americans. Both sociocultural and environmental context variations among ethnic groups are intertwined with sociodemographic variation, and the associations of these factors with obesity may vary by gender. The challenge is to identify sociocultural and contextual influences that predispose children in minority populations to obesity development and determine ways to account for these factors in developing effective solutions. These solutions may need to incorporate interventions that directly mitigate adverse social determinants of health.

Metrics

10 Record Views
12 citations in Scopus

Details

Logo image