We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
'Because Being Fat Means Being Sick': Children at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
- Authors
Eriksen, Shelley J.; Manke, Beth
- Abstract
This study addresses the social and cultural underpinnings that shape children's risk of type 2 diabetes, as identified by a racially and economically diverse group of parents and their children living in Anaheim, California. Based on in-depth interviews with 28 adults and 17 children, we explored how they understood what constitutes 'good health' in children and the aspects of their neighborhoods and communities that acted as resources or impediments to their children's well-being. We found that parents and children employed a language of food that reflected a fear-based, medicalized orientation to food consumption. Although nearly all agreed that children should stay active, densely populated neighborhoods, apartment complexes with rigid outdoor rules, high crime rates, police surveillance, and diminished access to public parks and recreational facilities posed challenges. Similarly problematic were deficits in school lunch programs and the limited sometimes demeaning, conversations with healthcare professionals about diabetes risk and prevention. Together, these narratives identify key structural processes attendant to type 2 diabetes risk in children and call for a more politicized conversation regarding prevention strategies and public healthcare practices.
- Subjects
ANAHEIM (Calif.); CALIFORNIA; UNITED States; TYPE 2 diabetes risk factors; CHILDREN'S health; SOCIAL medicine; HEALTH of African Americans; HEALTH of Hispanic Americans; NUTRITION -- Social aspects; PHYSICAL fitness -- Social aspects; FOOD consumption -- Social aspects; SCHOOL food
- Publication
Sociological Inquiry, 2011, Vol 81, Issue 4, p549
- ISSN
0038-0245
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1475-682X.2011.00392.x