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The role of grandparents in childhood obesity in China - evidence from a mixed methods study

Overview of attention for article published in International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, June 2015
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  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (98th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (95th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
9 news outlets
blogs
2 blogs
policy
1 policy source
twitter
16 X users
facebook
3 Facebook pages
googleplus
1 Google+ user

Citations

dimensions_citation
111 Dimensions

Readers on

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273 Mendeley
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Title
The role of grandparents in childhood obesity in China - evidence from a mixed methods study
Published in
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, June 2015
DOI 10.1186/s12966-015-0251-z
Pubmed ID
Authors

Bai Li, Peymané Adab, Kar Keung Cheng

Abstract

The current literature on the influences of family environment on childhood obesity is predominantly based on western populations and has focused on the role of parents. This study examined the influence of grandparents on the development of obesity among Chinese primary school aged children. A mixed methods study was conducted in four socioeconomically distinct primary school communities in two cities of southern China. The qualitative study (17 focus groups and four personal interviews) involved parents, grandparents, school staff, and food retailers in the vicinity of the schools (n = 99) and explored perceived causes of childhood obesity. The cross-sectional study examined the association between children's objectively measured weight status and reported health behaviours, and the presence and role of grandparents in the household. It included children from three randomly selected third grade (8 to 10 years) classes from each school (n = 497). Grandparents were commonly perceived to contribute to childhood obesity through inappropriate perception (e.g. fat children are healthy and well cared for), knowledge (e.g. obesity related diseases can only happen in adults; the higher the dietary energy/fat content, the more nutritious the food), and behaviour (e.g. overfeeding and indulging through excusing the children from household chores). Conflicting child care beliefs and practices between grandparents and parents, and between grandparents and school teachers, were felt to undermine efforts to promote healthy behaviours in children. In the cross-sectional study, children who were mainly cared for by their grandparents were more likely to be overweight/obese (adjusted OR = 2.03; 95 % CI = 1.19 to 3.47); and to consume more sugar-added drinks and unhealthy snacks (B = 2.13, 95 % CI = 0.87 to 3.40), than children who were mainly cared for by their parents or other adult. Children who lived with two or more grandparents in the household were more likely to be overweight/obese than children who did not live with any grandparent (adjusted OR = 1.72; 95 % CI = 1.00 to 2.94). Involvement of grandparents in childcare is an important factor contributing to childhood obesity in China. Future preventive interventions should include strategies that target grandparents.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 16 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 273 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United Kingdom 1 <1%
Brazil 1 <1%
Unknown 271 99%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 43 16%
Student > Master 43 16%
Researcher 32 12%
Student > Bachelor 22 8%
Student > Doctoral Student 21 8%
Other 46 17%
Unknown 66 24%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 46 17%
Nursing and Health Professions 39 14%
Social Sciences 34 12%
Psychology 21 8%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 13 5%
Other 44 16%
Unknown 76 28%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 100. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 29 February 2020.
All research outputs
#375,116
of 23,511,526 outputs
Outputs from International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
#101
of 1,972 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#4,219
of 264,264 outputs
Outputs of similar age from International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
#3
of 46 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,511,526 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 98th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,972 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 28.7. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 94% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 264,264 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 46 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 95% of its contemporaries.