“Those Comments Last Forever”: Parents and Grandparents of Preschoolers Recount How They Became Aware of Their Own Body Weights as Children

BackgroundParents' and grandparents' willingness to talk about children's body weights may be influenced by their own childhood experiences of body weight awareness and ‘weight talk’ in the family; however, little is known about how adults describe their recollected weight-related childhood experiences.AimsThis paper examines how parents and grandparents of preschoolers describe the emergence of their own body weight awareness in childhood or adolescence. The analysis highlights the sources that participants identify as having instigated their body weight awareness, the feelings and experiences participants associate with the experience of becoming aware of their body weights, and their framings of potential links between childhood experiences and attitudes and practices in adulthood.Methods49 participants (22 parents, 27 grandparents, 70% women, 60% with overweight/obesity) from sixteen low-income families of children aged 3–5 years (50% girls, 56% with overweight/obesity) in the Pacific Northwest were interviewed. The interviews were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively.ResultsTwenty-five participants (51%) said they became aware of their body weights in childhood or adolescence. Fourteen participants said their body weight awareness emerged through comments made by others, with the majority citing parents or peers. No participant described the emergence of body weight awareness in positive terms. Four participants directly linked their own negative experiences to the decision not to discuss body weight with their preschoolers. All four cited critical comments from their parents as instigating their own body weight awareness in childhood.ConclusionsIn most cases, participants associated their emergent awareness of body weight with overtly negative feelings or consequences; some participants said these negative experiences continued to affect them as adults. Since family-based childhood obesity interventions involve open discussion of children's body sizes, the results suggest that clinicians should reframe the discussion to deconstruct obesity stigma and emphasize inclusive, affirmative, and health-focused messages.

研究背景：父母与祖父母谈论子女体重的意愿，或受自身童年时期体重认知经历及家庭内“体重话题”的影响；然而目前学界对成年人如何描述其记忆中与体重相关的童年经历仍知之甚少。
研究目的：本文旨在探究学龄前儿童的父母与祖父母，如何描述自身童年或青少年时期体重认知的形成过程。分析将聚焦参与者所提及的、引发其体重认知的诱因，与体重认知相关的感受与经历，以及他们对童年经历与成年后态度、行为之间潜在关联的解读框架。
研究方法：招募来自美国太平洋西北部16个低收入家庭的49名参与者（其中22名为父母，27名为祖父母；70%为女性；60%参与者本人超重或肥胖），这些家庭的儿童年龄为3至5岁（50%为女孩，56%的儿童超重或肥胖）。研究者对访谈进行录像、转录，并开展质性分析。
研究结果：25名参与者（占比51%）表示，其体重认知形成于童年或青少年时期。其中14人称，他人的评价是其体重认知产生的契机，多数人提及父母或同伴的评价。无参与者以积极词汇描述体重认知的形成过程。4名参与者直接将自身的负面经历，与“不与学龄前子女讨论体重”的决定相关联，这4人均表示，童年时期父母的批判性评价是引发其体重认知的诱因。
研究结论：多数参与者将体重认知的形成与明显的负面感受或后果相关联；部分参与者表示，这些负面经历在成年后仍对其产生影响。鉴于基于家庭的儿童肥胖干预需公开讨论儿童的体型大小，研究结果提示临床工作者应重构讨论框架，以消解肥胖污名，并强调包容性、肯定性与健康导向的沟通内容。