Parents' reports of the body shape and feeding habits of 36‐month‐old children: An investigation of gender differences

Holm‐Denoma, Jill M.; Lewinsohn, Peter M.; Gau, Jeffrey M.; Joiner, Thomas E.; Striegel‐Moore, Ruth H.; Otamendi, A

doi:10.1002/eat.20180

Cited by 20 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Previous studies investigating gender differences have reported conflicting results. For example, some studies found no difference in parental misperception between boys and girls [17], [37], [38], while other studies found that parents were more likely to misperceive boys’ weight status compared to girls’ [39], [40]. Therefore, future studies that investigate this are warranted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of Parental Misperception of Their Child’s Weight Status: The ‘Be Active, Eat Right’ Study

Remmers

Grieken

Renders³

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

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ObjectiveThis study reported on correlates of parental perception of their child’s weight status. Associations between parental misperception (i.e., underestimation of the child’s weight) and parental intention to improve their child’s overweight-related health behaviors and their child meeting guidelines regarding these behaviors were also investigated.MethodsBaseline data from the population-based ‘Be active, eat right study’ were used. The population for analysis consisted of 630 overweight and 153 obese five year-old children and their parents. Questionnaires were used to measure parental perception of the child’s weight status, correlates of misperception (i.e., child age, child gender, child BMI, parental age, parental gender, parental country of birth, parental educational level and parental weight status), overweight-related health behaviors (i.e., child playing outside, having breakfast, drinking sweet beverages, and watching TV), and parental intention to improve these behaviors. Height and weight were measured using standardized protocols. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsIn total, 44.40% of the parents misperceived their child’s weight status. Parental misperception was associated with lower child BMI, the parent being the father, a foreign parental country of birth, and a lower parental education level (p<0.05). Parental misperception was not associated with parental intention to improve child overweight-related health behavior, nor with child meeting the guidelines of these behaviors.DiscussionThis study showed that almost half of the parents with an overweight or obese child misperceived their child’s weight status. A correct parental perception may be a small stepping-stone in improving the health of overweight and obese children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of Parental Misperception of Their Child’s Weight Status: The ‘Be Active, Eat Right’ Study

Remmers

Grieken

Renders³

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

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“…According to the previous studies, parents are not always worried about their offspring's weight or health despite the offspring's overweight status [15,17-19,27], especially if a child has a healthy appetite and eats healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables [21]. Should parents be aware and worried of a child's overweight status, if the child is physically active and has healthy eating habits?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with parental recognition of a child's overweight status - a cross sectional study

Vanhala

Keinänen‐Kiukaanniemi

Kaikkonen

et al. 2011

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundVery few studies have evaluated the association between a child's lifestyle factors and their parent's ability to recognise the overweight status of their offspring. The aim of this study was to analyze the factors associated with a parent's ability to recognise their own offspring's overweight status.Methods125 overweight children out of all 1,278 school beginners in Northern Finland were enrolled.Weight and height were measured in health care clinics. Overweight status was defined by BMI according to internationally accepted criteria. A questionnaire to be filled in by parents was delivered by the school nurses. The parents were asked to evaluate their offspring's weight status. The child's eating habits and physical activity patterns were also enquired about. Factor groups of food and physical activity habits were formed by factor analysis. Binary logistic regression was performed using all variables associated with recognition of overweight status in univariate analyses. The significant risk factors in the final model are reported using odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsFifty-seven percent (69/120) of the parents of the overweight children considered their child as normal weight. Child's BMI was positively associated with parental recognition of overweight (OR 3.59, CI 1.8 to 7.0). Overweight boys were less likely to be recognised than overweight girls (OR 0.14, CI 0.033 to 0.58). Child's healthy diet (OR 0.22, CI 0.091 to 0.54) and high physical activity (OR 0.29, CI 0.11 to 0.79) were inversely related to parental recognition of overweight status.ConclusionsChild's healthy eating habits and physical activity are inversely related to parental recognition of their offspring's overweight. These should be taken into account when planning prevention and treatment strategies for childhood obesity.

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“…Although this research is beneficial, there is a body of literature suggesting that parents often underestimate their child's weight [8-14] thus indicating a need to explore environmental and social issues related to weight perception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Parental perceptions of a child's weight may influence how a parent feeds their child [4,8]. One study reported that parents who accurately perceived their child's weight were more likely to believe their child was at risk for type 2 diabetes [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study reported that parents who accurately perceived their child's weight were more likely to believe their child was at risk for type 2 diabetes [13]. Programs targeting children at risk may be unsuccessful if parents do not recognize that the condition exists or the risk it poses to the child's health [8]. Unless parents recognize that a child has an elevated weight, the support needed for a child to achieve a healthy body weight may be lacking [9-14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Weight perceptions of parents with children at risk for diabetes

Vivian

Becker

Carrel³

2012

BMC Res Notes

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BackgroundThe growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes among African American, Latino American, and Native American children in the United States has led to increasing focus on strategies for prevention. However, little is known about the perceptions toward weight, nutrition, and physical activity among these youth. This pilot study explored the perceptions of body weight among overweight and obese children and their parents.ResultsThirty eight children, ages 8-16 years who were enrolled in a diabetes prevention study were surveyed to assess their perception of their weight. Nearly all (84%) of the children were obese. When asked whether they considered themselves to be overweight, African-American children were less likely to report that they were overweight than other children (33% vs. 80% of other children, p = 0.01). The parents of these children (n = 29) were also surveyed to assess their perception of their child's weight. The parents of two-thirds (65%) of the children reported that the child was overweight, while the rest reported their child was underweight or the right weight. African-American parents were less likely to report that their child's weight was unhealthy compared to other parents (46% vs. 77%, p = 0.069).ConclusionsThis study's findings indicate that future intervention efforts should assess children's and parents' awareness of obesity and diabetes risk and these factors should be considered when developing prevention interventions for families with youth at risk for diabetes in underserved communities.

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Parents' reports of the body shape and feeding habits of 36‐month‐old children: An investigation of gender differences

Abstract: Clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Cited by 20 publications

References 29 publications

Correlates of Parental Misperception of Their Child’s Weight Status: The ‘Be Active, Eat Right’ Study

Correlates of Parental Misperception of Their Child’s Weight Status: The ‘Be Active, Eat Right’ Study

Factors associated with parental recognition of a child's overweight status - a cross sectional study

Weight perceptions of parents with children at risk for diabetes

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