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Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Overweight Mexican-Origin Smokers
METHODS: Five focus groups (three female, two male) were conducted in Spanish with overweight Mexican-origin smokers. Data were transcribed and analyzed using Atlas.ti. A team of coders reviewed the transcripts to identify salient themes.
RESULTS: Relevant themes revealed similarities and differences by gender. Barriers to healthy eating in men revolved around preferences for unhealthy foods. Women described a lack of time and energy for healthy meal preparation and the strong influence of husbands and children, who did not always support a healthy diet. Strategies for healthy shopping, cooking, and meal preparation were important facilitators for women. For PA, there was little expectation for PA outside of routine activities. Both men and women identified work and family commitments as leaving little time for PA. Women also expressed fear of injury, yet emphasized how enjoyable activities with family/friends facilitated being active.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the need for intervention strategies to be mindful of behavioral contexts, build off of healthy eating strategies, address ways to incorporate PA into one’s routine, and make PA fun and able to involve family/friends.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsSocial and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe how smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity tend to cluster.
Describe similarities and differences in the barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and physical activity in overweight Mexican-origin men and women who smoke.
Describe implications for intervention design.
Keyword(s): Latinos, Obesity
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was involved in the conduct and analysis of this study and am a co-Investigator on the parent project through which it is funded. I am also involved in several studies focused on physical activity and diet in Latino populations.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.