Keywords
Causes
Belief
Primary education
Adults
How to Cite
Abstract
The aim of this work was to examine and compare the ideas used by elementary school students, parents and teachers to explain the causes of childhood obesity. Fifty-one students, eight parents and five teachers (N = 64) from a public elementary school participated, who were organized into four groups: G1 first grade, G2 third grade, G3 sixth grade, and G4 parents and teachers. A semi-structured interview consisting of seven tasks was used, which examined ideas about the causes and solutions of childhood obesity. The results showed that participants explained childhood obesity based on diet, physical activity, social, psychological, and biological factors. In particular, parents, teachers and some sixth-grade students gave more sophisticated responses and included more factors, including psychological and biological factors, in comparison with first and third grade students, who based their explanation on diet and physical activity factors. Finally, a scientific literacy proposal is made in the school context based on a sociocientific issue approach.
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