Puhl Rebecca M, Lessard Leah M, Foster Gary D, Cardel Michelle I
Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health, University of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut.
Department of Human Development & Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
Pediatrics. 2022 Dec 1;150(6). doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-058204.
Parent communication about body weight is a sensitive topic, but limited research has studied youth preferences for words used to talk about their weight with parents. We assessed perspectives of weight-based terminology in 2 racially/ethnically diverse samples of youth and parents.
We collected online survey data from 2 panel survey samples between September and December 2021: youth aged 10 to 17 years (n = 2032) and parents of youth aged 10 to 17 years (n = 1936). Participants rated 27 different terms and phrases to describe body weight; parents reported on their usage of this terminology and youth reported their preferences for and emotional responses to terminology. Patterns were examined across sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and weight status.
Youth reported preferences for words such as "healthy weight" and dislike of terms such as "obese," "fat," and "large," which induced feelings of sadness, shame, and embarrassment. Differences in youth preferences and emotional reactions were present across sex, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and weight status. This included a general pattern of lower preference ratings among girls (versus boys) and sexual minority (versus heterosexual) youth, and stronger preferences for words such as "thick" or "curvy" among racial/ethnic minority, sexual minority, and higher-weight youth. Use of most weight terms was higher among fathers compared with mothers, and by Hispanic/Latinx parents compared with white and Black/African American parents.
Our findings underscore diversity of youth preferences and the need for individualized approaches that support effective parent and youth communication by using their preferred terms when discussing weight-related health.
父母与孩子关于体重的沟通是一个敏感话题，但针对青少年与父母谈论体重时所偏好词汇的研究有限。我们评估了两个种族/民族多样化的青少年和父母样本对基于体重的术语的看法。
我们在2021年9月至12月期间从两个面板调查样本中收集了在线调查数据：10至17岁的青少年（n = 2032）和10至17岁青少年的父母（n = 1936）。参与者对27个不同的描述体重的术语和短语进行评分；父母报告他们对这些术语的使用情况，青少年报告他们对术语的偏好和情感反应。研究了性别、种族/民族、性取向和体重状况之间的模式。
青少年表示更喜欢“健康体重”等词汇，不喜欢“肥胖”“胖”和“大块头”等词汇，这些词汇会引发悲伤、羞耻和尴尬的情绪。青少年的偏好和情感反应在性别、性取向、种族/民族和体重状况方面存在差异。这包括女孩（与男孩相比）和性少数群体（与异性恋相比）的青少年普遍偏好评分较低，以及种族/民族少数群体、性少数群体和体重较高的青少年对“丰满”或“曲线优美”等词汇的偏好更强。与母亲相比，父亲使用大多数体重术语的频率更高，与白人和黑人/非裔美国父母相比，西班牙裔/拉丁裔父母使用的频率更高。
我们的研究结果强调了青少年偏好的多样性，以及在讨论与体重相关的健康问题时，需要采用个性化方法，使用他们喜欢的术语来支持有效的父母与青少年沟通。
