Abstract
The unyielding obesity epidemic in adolescents from Middle Eastern (ME) backgrounds warrants culturally-responsive and co-designed prevention measures. This study aimed to capture the opinions of ME parents residing in Australia on the crisis and their enablers and barriers to healthy eating interventions given their influence on adolescent eating behaviors. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with ME mothers, aged 35–59 years, and most residing in low socioeconomic areas (n = 19). A reflexive thematic analysis using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation-Behaviour model and Theoretical Domain Framework was conducted. Parents expressed confidence in knowledge of importance of healthy eating, but were reluctant to believe behaviours were engaged in outside of parental influence. Time management skills are needed to support working mothers and to minimize reliance on nearby fast-food outlets, which was heightened during COVID-19 with home-delivery. Time constraints also meant breakfast skipping was common. A culture of feeding in light of diet acculturation and intergenerational trauma in this diaspora was also acknowledged. Parents pleaded for upstream policy changes across government and school bodies to support parental efforts in the form of increased regulation of fast-food and subsidization of healthy products. Opportunities for weight-inclusive programs including parenting workshops underpinned by culturally-responsive pedagogy were recommended.
Highlights
Recruitment of participants continued until the lead researcher conducting the interviews determined that no new topics were emerging and an information-rich data set was obtained
All interviews were in English, with one exception of a parent more comfortable speaking in a combination of English and Arabic
A recent secondary analysis of Australian national data revealed multi-generational inequalities in overweight and obesity linked to greater acculturation, with males arriving as adolescents from North Africa/Middle Eastern (ME) and Oceania regions having significantly higher BMI and being twice as likely to be overweight and obese compared with immigrants that arrived as adults [28]
Summary
Adolescent obesity is forecast to increase worldwide, with 254 million children aged. 5–19 years predicted to be living with obesity in 2030 [1]. In Australia, the most recent comprehensive survey from its most populous state, the 2015 NSW School Physical Activity and Nutrition survey (SPANS), revealed that 27.4% of adolescents in secondary school aged 13 to 16 years were either overweight or obese [2]. SPANS data indicated that adolescents from Middle. Probe around role of parenthood in health of adolescent. The 2015 NSW School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) revealed that adolescents from Middle Eastern Backgrounds have a much greater prevalence (41%) of overweight and obesity compared with children from English-speaking backgrounds (26%).
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