CHILDHOOD OBESITY: A COMPARISON BETWEEN MEDICAL DISCOURSE AND THE MEANINGS ATTRIBUTED BY MOTHERS TO CHILDREN'S EATING DILEMMAS

Abstract

The current article consists in a research on childhood obesity. The problematic in focus leads to reflect on the discursive features of medical practices regarding childhood intervention, leading to a counterpoint with the meanings assigned by the child’s mother about the obesity. Given this, picks up as the general goal search into parent speech the meanings assigned to the child’s obesity, before the influence of medical discourse, as well as the implications of mother-child relationship in the issue in question. About the investigation of the proposed objective, a qualitative study was conducted with bibliographic survey and field investigation. In the period April to June 2010, interviews were conducted with 04 mothers of obese children who token part in the Programa de Prevenção à Obesidade do IPREDE/Ceará (Obesity Prevention Program of IPREDE/Ceará). The method of discourse analysis guided the work with the field material, organized based on categories. In the current article, brings as the main focus of discussion the category related on the meanings attributed to the interventions of the Prevention Program. From the course undertaken, can be concluded that the meanings about what flew at their children sometimes revealing the submission of these to the dominant discourse sometimes indicating their resistance to join the program. Facing this, question the involvement of the mothers in the problems presented by the child is to do justice to the complexity of the subject and create spaces for dialogue with the knowledge areas, among them the medicine.

Keywords: Childhood obesity; Medical Discourse; Psychoanalysis; Parent-child relationship.