Yonago Acta medica 1997;40:137–145
Mothers' Body Perception Biased to Obesity and its Effects on Nursing Behaviors
Noriko Yakura, Tsunakiyo Kasagi and Kaori Hiroe*
Department of Nursing, Tottori University, Institute of Medical Care Technology and *Division of Nursing, University Hospital, Tottori University, Yonago 683 Japan
Many women who have dieted in adolescence seem to become
mothers without correcting their obesity-biased perceptions of the
body. This study estimated the number of such mothers and analyzed
the problems in their nursing: 1496 mothers to 790 babies aged 4
months and 706 children aged 18 months completed questionnaires
addressing mothers' images of their own and their children's body,
mothers' behaviors to reduce children's weight, their behavior
patterns and mothers' experiences to reduce their own weight. The
level of obesity was calculated with the body mass index (BMI)
(weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) from the
measurements of children's and mothers' body weight and height. Body
image was distorted most in mothers for themselves, and then for
babies and children: 23.2% and 58.2% of nonobese babies (BMI: 18 and 19, respectively) and 23.2% of nonobese children (BMI: 17) were regarded as obese. Mothers' objective evaluation by referring to the percentile values was less frequent than expected, and subjective
evaluation such as "compared with other children" was noted. Weight
reducing was practiced in 7.7% of nonobese babies and 17.2% of
nonobese children. The high percentage level was due to mothers' body
shape evaluation biased to obesity and worry about children's
possible future obesity. In 10.5% of the babies and 11.8% of the
children, the mothers took extreme dieting measures that could
inhibit normal growth of children, such as diluting the concentration
of breast milk or formula, reducing the frequency and amount of
feeding, etc. Health participants should make young mothers
understand the difference of fatness in nursing babies from
adolescent obesity through health guidance given individually to
mothers on any occasion. Furthermore, considering the effects of mass
media, health participants should actively offer related information
in printed matter familiar to mothers.
Key words: body shape evaluation; weight-reducing behavior; mothers; nursing babies; wish to be thinner
