The Meaning of Weight: A Big Way of Life for Rural Mexican-American Adolescent Men and Caregivers

Abstract

Objective: To describe the meaning of body weight among rural Mexican-American adolescents (RMAA) and an influential person (IP) of their social network.

Design and sample: This is qualitative descriptive study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit RMAA seeking care at a rural primary care-based clinic. Content analysis was used to identify categories and subcategories. Fifteen male adolescents and 14 IPs were interviewed (n = 29).

Measures: Individual interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire.

Results: Participants described body weight through family norms, body size, and history of heart disease or diabetes. Cultural scripts were used to describe weight gain, judgment of size, and resource limitations.

Conclusions: Health care providers must evaluate cultural scripts associated with body size to develop interventions that are derived from the meaning ascribed to weight status rather than simply based on evidence-based standards. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01387646.

Keywords: adolescent; body weight; family; perception; qualitative research.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors J.C., D.O., or J.D.C. report no conflicts of interest.

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.