PC1150: Parents’ Openness to Learning About Mindfulness and Wellness Group Visits for Children Who Are Overweight/obese

Background: Over 14 million American children have been diagnosed with overweight/obesity. Research supports mindful eating as an approach to weight loss in specific pediatric populations. Wellness group visits (support meetings hosted by health care providers) promoting mindfulness and mindful eating for children who are overweight/obesity may be a way to promote healthy eating and healthy weight. Parents’ views on these approaches remain unknown. This study sought 1) to understand openness to learning about mindfulness among parents of children who are overweight/obese and differences across parental education and income levels and 2) to examine parents’ interest in attending Wellness Group Visits.

Methods: A national, cross-sectional online survey conducted in October 2018 recruited parents of children aged 0-18 years through Qualtrics panels. Measures included having a child diagnosed as overweight/obese, interest in learning about mindfulness from their HCP, belief that mindfulness could be beneficial when parenting, and interest in attending Wellness Group Visits with their children. Comparisons of interest in mindfulness across education and income levels were conducted between parents of children who are overweight/obese and parents of children who are not overweight/obese using chi-square and Fisher’s exact test.

Results: Out of the 1638 participants, 387 (24.0%) reported having a child who was diagnosed as overweight/obese. Parents of children diagnosed as overweight/obese (PCO) were more likely to report interest in learning about mindfulness from their HCP compared to parents of children who were not diagnosed as overweight/obese (48.5% vs. 40.1%, p = 0.004). Across all income levels, 60.0-74.0% of PCO reported that mindfulness can be beneficial when parenting. PCO with higher education levels (62.6% college degree vs. 41.2% no college degree, p < .0010) and higher income levels (59.1% >$100k household income vs. 41.3% <$50k household income, p = .0166) were more likely to report interest in learning about mindfulness from their HCP. Among PCO, 53.0% reported interest in attending Wellness Group Visits with their children.

Conclusion: Findings suggest an opportunity to promote mindfulness teaching and participation in Wellness Group Visits for PCO. Future studies should explore ways to promote mindfulness education among parents and children of lower socioeconomic statuses.