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Stigmatization of Overweight Mexican Children

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Abstract

The present study was designed to determine the weight-based stigmatization of Mexican overweight (OW) and non-OW children by their mothers and peers, who rated both boys and girls with varying physical characteristics. Four hundred and thirty-two fifth and sixth graders and 342 mothers participated in the study. Children were administered a questionnaire displaying six drawings. Participants’ responses were numbered in order of preference from 1 to 6 (most to least well liked). Participants were divided into categories based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and current body mass index. The majority of children chose the child in a wheelchair as the preferred friend. Boys and girls, Indian and non-Indian, with and without risk of OW chose the obese peer as the least-preferred friend. Non-OW girls and their mothers liked the obese child less than non-OW boys and their mothers. Agreement correlations between mothers and children were rho = 0.19 (P = 0.0001), rho = 0.17 (P = 0.001), and rho = 0.13 (P = 0.02) for the healthy child, child with missing arm, and obese child, respectively. There was a strong correlation between Indian mothers and non-OW daughters (rho = 0.54, P = 0.009) on choosing the drawing of the obese child as the least preferred friend. These data suggest an influential effect of the negative attitude of mothers toward the obese child, which are projected to their children.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Raul Gonzalez-Ramirez for excellent assistance with the statistical analysis and Adria B. Jimenez and Martha Estrada-Grimaldo for helpful comments and assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition Program, Medical School, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Calzada Tecnológico 14418, Mesa de Otay, Tijuana, 22390, B.C., Mexico

    Montserrat Bacardi-Gascón, Maria Juana Leon-Reyes & Arturo Jiménez-Cruz

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  1. Montserrat Bacardi-Gascón
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  2. Maria Juana Leon-Reyes
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  3. Arturo Jiménez-Cruz
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Correspondence to Arturo Jiménez-Cruz.

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Bacardi-Gascón, M., Leon-Reyes, M.J. & Jiménez-Cruz, A. Stigmatization of Overweight Mexican Children. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 38, 99–105 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-006-0045-2

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