Do Faith Communities Have a Role in Addressing Childhood Obesity?
OBJECTIVES
Pediatric obesity is a multifaceted phenomenon. A partnership with faith-based communities to address the issue has been suggested. The purpose of this study was to describe the cultural beliefs of faith community leaders regarding childhood obesity and to examine attitudes about their role in addressing the issue.


DESIGN AND SAMPLE
A qualitative descriptive design informed by ethnographic methods and triangulation of multiple data sources was utilized to assess the cultural beliefs of faith community leaders. A purposive sample of 13 leaders (nine females, four males) from seven multicultural and multigenerational local faith communities participated in the study. No more than three participants from any one faith community were enrolled in the study.


RESULTS
Twenty-first century lifestyle challenges, accountability of behaviors (a dichotomy that fluctuated between individual responsibility to community and/or social responsibility), and the need for intentionality emerged as themes from the data.


CONCLUSIONS
Faith community leaders envisioned a role for faith communities in addressing childhood obesity. Findings support the ongoing development of population based health promotion programs through faith community engagement. The findings provide a foundation for nurses partnering with faith communities on health promotion programs targeting childhood obesity to address family health issues in a holistic way.
['Opalinski|Andra|A|', 'Dyess|Susan|S|', 'Grooper|Sareen|S|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D002648:Child D003469:Culture D005260:Female D006293:Health Promotion D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D063766:Pediatric Obesity D011637:Public Health Nursing D036301:Qualitative Research D012067:Religion D012380:Role D055815:Young Adult
pediatric obesity culture social responsibility health promotion family health parish nursing public health nursing