Improving Childhood Obestiy: Using Photovoice to Empower the Community for Change

Abstract

The prevalence of childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the last 40 years (Anderson & Butcher, 2011). Approximately 33% of children in the U.S. are considered overweight or obese. The Surgeon General placed a charge on the American people to come together as communities to work to improve children’s health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). This research used a community participatory research technique called Photovoice. Parents from a rural community gathered together to discuss and take photographs of factors surrounding childhood obesity. The photographs told a story of many of the facets of childhood obesity. This included the barriers to changing it, the resources that this community has to improve it, and what an improvement to childhood obesity would look like.