Actual Weight, Perceived Weight and Desired Weight of Romanian School Children by Parents and Children

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The perception of the body weight by children and parents influences the consequent actions undertaken for children’s body weight management. This study investigated the correspondence between objective evaluations of Romanian school children (actual weight) and perceptions about weight (perceived weight), preoccupation with body weight management (desired weight) and parents’ perceptions on children’s weight. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was performed among 344 children aged 11 to 14 and 147 parents from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. We made anthropometric measurements of children, and short questionnaires were completed by the children and the parents. Results: The results show that 3.8% of children were underweight, 68.3% had a normal weight and 27.9% were overweight. Of this sample, 61.5% of underweight children, 20% of normal weight children and 43.7% of overweight children had misperceptions about their weight. The percentage of parents who did not estimate their children’s weight correctly was 50%, 11.9% and 41.5%, respectively, for each of the three weight groups. The results of the logistic regression analyses showed that several factors were associated with the misclassification of their own body weight by the children, such as body mass index, gender, weight management practices, misclassification by the parents as well as parent–child discussions on these issues. Conclusions: Education for both Romanian parents and children is needed with regard to correctly identifying and managing children’ body weight.

Assessment of Actual Weight, Perceived Weight and Desired Weight of Romanian School Children-Opinions and Practices of Children and Their Parents

“…Additionally, within this study, we explored the relationships between under- and over-estimation in normal and heavy weight children, looking to both the weight-related experiences and behaviors of themselves and their parents. To our knowledge, this study would be the second research conducted in Romania that evaluated these issues [ 27 ]. Compared to the previous study which was carried out in 2013 on a group of 344 students from a city of Romania, our study was conducted in 2019 and included a larger sample of children from several cities of Romania which allowed separate analyses for girls and boys.…”

“…The study used a questionnaire which was developed based on data from the literature and on previous questionnaires developed and tested in several studies from Romania [ 27 , 51 ]. It included several sections that investigated nutrition, physical activity, weight management, and other health risk behaviors among participating children.…”

“…In this context, it is of great interest for parents to understand the health risks of obesity and their role in its prevention, but the biggest challenge would be to correct their misperceptions and apply specific interventions to their children according to their weight [ 27 ].…”

“…To our knowledge, few studies on the Romanian population assessed the association between children’s BMI and weight control behaviors. Additionally, prior research on Romanian children and parents’ perception regarding body weight is scarce and there is no previous evidence about the relationship between children’s weight status and vulnerability to bullying in Romania [ 27 , 50 ].…”

Psychosocial Predictors of Body Weight Congruence in Adolescents Aged 15 and 17 Years in Poland: Findings from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study

“…The data presented in this paper clearly demonstrate that a fairly high proportion (57.4%) of underweight adolescents overestimated their weight. Even higher percentages were observed by Lotrean et al among younger adolescents (aged 11–14 years) from Romania, where up to 61.5% of children who were underweight considered their weight to be normal [ 54 ]. While the results among underweight girls indicating that half of them overestimated their body weight were expected (50.0%), it is worth noting that nearly one-third (31.0%) of underweight boys also perceived their body weight to be greater than their actual weight.…”