Parental Correlates of Body Weight Status Among High School Students in Tehran

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the parental correlates of body weight status among adolescents in Tehran. The participants were 465 high school students and their parents who resided in Tehran. Body weight and height of the students were measured, and body mass index (BMI)-for-age and body weight status of the students were determined according to the world health organization growth reference (2007). Parents of the students completed a self-administered questionnaire including socio-demographic information, self-reported parental body weight and height, and parental perception of student’s body weight status. About half of the parents had an incorrect perception about body weight status of their children with higher rates of underestimation than overestimation. The percentage of parents who correctly perceived body weight status of the students decreased from 100.0% in severe thinness group to 14.0% in obese group. There were no significant associations between marital status, occupation, and education of parents and BMI-for-age of the students. While, both BMI of mother and BMI of father were significantly associated with students’ BMI-for-age (r = 0.29 and r = 0.27, respectively; P < 0.05). A great number of parents had incorrect perception regarding body weight status of their offspring; this was true specifically for parents of overweight and obese students. Both parental BMI and parental perception regarding students’ body weight status were associated with students’ BMI-for-age, indicating the need for parental involvement in weight management programs targeting adolescents.

Prognostic value of different maternal obesity phenotypes in predicting offspring obesity in a family-based cohort study

“…The relationship between parental obesity and offspring weight status has been previously documented in different populations [ 11 – 13 ]. Similarly, studies conducted in Iran show that both paternal and maternal overweight/obesity are important determinants of overweight/obesity in children [ 14 – 16 ]. These studies were mainly focused on overweight/obesity, which is commonly defined using body mass index (BMI), but it should be kept in mind that BMI has some limitations which confine its ability to be a good measure of health risk.…”

“…Parental weight status is widely studied as an important determinant of childhood obesity [ 11 – 16 ]. In this regard, findings of a study conducted on participants of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) emphasized the importance of parental obesity in the incidence of obesity in 7–11 years children during 10 years follow up [ 21 ].…”