Beliefs And Influences Relative To The Health Issue (Childhood Obesity)

Cultural beliefs and its influence on childhood obesity
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Cultural beliefs and its influence on childhood obesity
Introduction
Obesity is a term describing a condition characterized by high levels of stored fat. Culture influences all aspects of life, including their perspective of fatness and thinness and other associated factors as depicted in the ideal male and female body statures conceived by different cultures. The 20th century has seen a shift in public attitudes from desiring fatness to accepting or seeking thinness with the emergence of activities such as beauty pageants (Sobal, 2001). Culture contributes to adversities in childhood obesity including in body image development which is differentially perceived by ethnocultural context. For instance, the ideal female body of African-Americans is much larger than their Caucasian counterparts. The Latino population has been reported to prefer leaner body for adults but plump children (Caprio et al, 2008).
Moreover, culture determines child-feeding practices with regard to beliefs, and behavio...