Cultural influence on mindful eating: traditions and values as experienced by Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white parents of elementary-school children.

Abstract

To examine perceptions of mindful eating and mindful food parenting among parents of elementary school children. Four focus groups were conducted with 19 Mexican-American parents and 13 non-Hispanic white parents of children from a northern California elementary school. Themes emerging from this research included food traditions during mealtime, perceptions of mindful eating, mindful food parenting and portion control, mindful food parenting practices through gardening, and mindful food parenting with traditional foods. Mexican-American participants identified cooking traditional foods as an important part of their mindful eating and food parenting practices. Mexican-American participants also highlighted the importance of using their senses to appreciate food. Both Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white participants emphasized the importance of involving children in gardening and meal preparation. Mexican-American parents had different perceptions of food portion control than the non-Hispanic white participants. The current study indicates the importance of mindfulness in broad food-related practices such as gardening, cooking and preserving food traditions in mindful eating practices. More research is needed to further understand how culture shapes and impacts these food practices among different cultural groups.