Maternal perceptions of infant's body weight and childhood obesity in South Africa: A qualitative study in Soweto
Corresponding Author
Emmanuel Cohen
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
CNRS, UMR 7206 “Eco-anthropologie”, Musée de l'Homme, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
Correspondence
Emmanuel Cohen, SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorWiedaad Slemming
Division of Community Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorStephanie V. Wrottesley
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorAlessandra Prioreschi
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorShane A. Norris
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Emmanuel Cohen
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
CNRS, UMR 7206 “Eco-anthropologie”, Musée de l'Homme, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
Correspondence
Emmanuel Cohen, SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorWiedaad Slemming
Division of Community Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorStephanie V. Wrottesley
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorAlessandra Prioreschi
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorShane A. Norris
SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
From a socio-anthropological study focusing on maternal body weight perceptions and dietary practices towards infants living in Soweto (South Africa), we studied how lay sociocultural traits may lead to early childhood obesity. Most mothers tended to socially value and normalize fatness. This propensity led mothers, particularly older women at home, to adopt high-calorie feeding practices towards infants, although some mothers tended to question these lay norms. Further works must consider how lay (emic) sociocultural norms in African townships can contradict biomedical (etic) messages, conveying for the community thinness as the acceptable standard, and may expose infants to early obesity.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
All authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
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| chso12689-sup-0001-TableS1.docxWord 2007 document , 13 KB |
Table S1. |
| chso12689-sup-0002-TableS2.xlsxExcel 2007 spreadsheet , 11.1 KB |
Table S2. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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