Public Displays of Affection

Abstract

Increased consumption of nutrient-poor, high-calorie snack foods is a major contributor to childhood obesity. As mothers play a crucial role in children's food intake, investigating factors that affect their child-feeding decisions is vital in framing a response to the problem. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-one mothers regarding junk food requests from children and the strategies they employed for managing these. Analysis revealed twenty variables that affected decision-making. These were utilized in a survey of fifty additional mothers aimed at measuring the relative importance of each factor on child-feeding decisions. Results highlight social and symbolic aspects of eating, as well as structural influences on mother–child interactions, particularly the demonstration of caring through feeding socially valued “junk,” tension between mother and worker roles, and the influence of peers on child-feeding. Nutritional concerns were rarely central to mothers' calculations, suggesting that health promotion strategies that presume their primacy miss the mark.

Keywords:

• mothers
• children
• obesity
• junk food

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joylin Namie

Joylin Namie is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Behavioral Science Department at Utah Valley University. Her research interests are in the intersection of biology, culture and environment, particularly issues related to women, health and the body. She has completed projects concerning beliefs about breast cancer in Costa Rica and multiple aspects of food and culture in American society, including the power of children over household food consumption. Her current project is an ethnographic film exploring the confluence of cosmetic surgery, religion and popular culture among Mormon women. Behavioral Science Department, MS 115, Utah Valley University, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem, UT 84058–5999, USA ([email protected]).