Most parents are unable to tell whether their child is obese, according to a new study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Institute of Child Health at University College London.
Researchers found that parents consistently underestimated their child's weight and were unable to notice that their offspring were obese, except in extreme cases. The misconception is most common when the child is male, investigators discovered. Families of southeast Asian or African descent were found to have the highest discrepancies between personal observations and official classifications.
Parents of 2,976 children participating in the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) were provided with questionnaires centered on perceptions of childhood weight. Parents answered questions about English children from five regions aged 4-5 and 10-11 years old, and school nurses verified height and weight.
Official British weight classifications categorize children as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese. The survey revealed that 31 percent of the parents underestimated the category into which their child belonged based on their body-mass index (BMI). According to official standards, 369 children in the study classify as obese, but only four parents acknowledged the distinction.
"If parents are unable to accurately classify their own child's weight, they may not be willing or motivated to enact the changes to the child's environment that promote healthy weight maintenance," Sanjay Kinra of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said.
Childhood obesity has risen dramatically over the last few years in countries around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of American children ages 6 through 11 who are obese rose from 7 percent to 12 percent between 1980 and 2012. The issue could lead to serious health problems for the children once they reach adulthood, including cardiac issues and diabetes.
Standard measurements of childhood body weight classify the heaviest 5 percent of children as obese, and the top 15 percent are considered overweight. Around 80 percent of children in the top 2 percent of weight measurements were classified as having a healthy weight by their parents.
Researchers believe this new finding could help evaluate public health programs aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Recent research found that a third of children in England are now classed as overweight or obese.
"Measures that decrease the gap between parental perceptions of child weight status and obesity scales used by medical professionals may now be needed in order to help parents better understand the health risks associated with overweight and increase uptake of healthier lifestyles," said Russell Viner, academic pediatrician at the UCL Institute of Child Health.
This new study of childhood obesity was funded by the National Institute for Health Research.
Examination of the ability of parents to properly recognize obesity levels in their children was profiled in the British Journal of General Practice.
Photo: F. Bellon | Flickr
