Family situations in the childhood obesity of the only child

Abstract

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the family dynamics of obese only children using a qualitative methodology. Its sample included eight families: four girls and four boys between 7 and 10 years old from high and low social-educational groups, with a nutritional evaluation for obesity: body mass index (BMI) >; 97th percentile. The following instruments were applied at their homes: a semi- structured interview, the projective Scenotest and a nutritional evaluation. The analysis was based on the theory of bond configurations (Berenstein and Puget). Its results showed that family dynamics involving contexts of social, cultural and historical nature of the society seem to favor both conditions: child obesity and only child. Social elements emphasizing individualism reflect on the familial and intimate level. The child can face, as soon as he/she is born, conditions for an unsatisfactory basic bond with the mother. The lack of a bond drives the child's satisfaction to food. Besides, the consumer culture interferes with the kind of food that is offered and with the way it is offered, and with the child's social skills; furthermore, it interferes with the decrease in the creation of possible bonds: intrapersonal, interpersonal and transpersonal, in addition to the fact that the child does not have siblings. This study showed that, although not every only child is obese and although not every obese child is an only child, one condition can be a facilitator of the other, as the social, cultural and historical situation of the hypermodern consumer society seems to lead the family to both conditions.