Práticas alimentares e corpo obeso: percepções e (con)vivências maternas

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a complex contemporary phenomenon that strikes families worldwide. From the point of view of Anthropology of Food, eating practices involve the relations between sociocultural processes, besides nutritional processes. It is known that fat children’s mothers play an important, influential role in their kids’ eating practices, and their lack of perception of their kids’ nutritional situation may hinder the adherence to the treatment. This study aims to understand the mothers’ perceptions and experiences regarding their eating practices and their children’s obese bodies. We chose to carry out an exploratory research with a qualitative approach and, as an epistemological strand, the Anthropology of Food. Participants in the research were thirteen women, mothers of obese children ranging from five to nine years of age, from the city of Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, in the period of March to May, 2015. We used the semi-structured interview technique and discourse analysis. The obese children’s eating practices from the mothers’ point of view are described as the children consumes food, the act of fast eating, in front of the television, eating secretly a huge amount of food, as well as the consumption of processed food rich in fat, sugar and sodium. The mothers’ behavior is permissive and uncontrolled when the children are eating. The women underestimate their children’s nutritional situation, are dissatisfied with their bodies and, in their own childhood, had little access to certain kinds of food that are now allowed to their children’s consumption. They define good eating as one with less sugar, salt and fat, and choose to offer their kids food that is rich in sugar, salt and fat, although each one of them says they are doing the best to their children. These women do not seek health services as a support for their eating practices, due to their dissatisfaction over them, and the lack of solution for their demands. Thus, the mothers’ perception and experience should be explored, for their behavior and attitudes are not shared in the health services. Seeing obese children and their mothers as a unit is a great step towards sowing the seed and reaping the fruit with important impact in these families’ lives and in the current childhood obesity scenario.