Perception versus Reality

Akerman, Anna; Williams, Marsha E.; Meunier, John

doi:10.1177/1359105307082449

Cited by 54 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Underestimation of overweight in children and adolescents aged 7–17 years is primarily driven by an under-reporting of weight through parents’ reports. Underweight is overestimated in all age groups as seen by Akerman et al [17], in our study the bias being strongest in the group of 2–6 year-olds.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…While parents of overweight children underestimate their child’s BMI derived from parent-reported height and weight to a stronger extent than parents of normal weight children, the effect is in the opposite direction for underweight children and adolescents, as found in other studies [15,17]. Model 1b simulates the situation that only parental reports are available and indicates that the parents’ perception of their child’s weight could be used to approximate the actual weight status and thus supplement parent-reported height and weight in the development of a correction formula.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

“…Akinbami and Ogden [16] found an overestimation of the prevalence rates for overweight based on reported data in younger children, getting weaker with increasing age up to an underestimation for adolescents from the age of 12 years onwards. Parents of underweight children and adolescents tended to overestimate their children’s weight status based on reported data while parents of overweight children were inclined to under-report their children’s weight status [15,17]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of BMI Derived from Parent-Reported Height and Weight with Measured Values: Results from the German KiGGS Study

Brettschneider

Ellert

Rosario

2012

IJERPH

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The use of parent-reported height and weight is a cost-efficient instrument to assess the prevalence of children’s weight status in large-scale surveys. This study aimed to examine the accuracy of BMI derived from parent-reported height and weight and to identify potential predictors of the validity of BMI derived from parent-reported data. A subsample of children aged 2–17 years (n = 9,187) was taken from the 2003–2006 cross-sectional German KiGGS study. Parent-reported and measured height and weight were collected and BMI was calculated. Besides descriptive analysis, linear regression models with BMI difference and logistic regression models with weight status misclassification as dependent variables were calculated. Height differences varied by gender and were generally small. Weight and BMI were under-reported in all age groups, the under-reporting getting stronger with increasing age. Overall, the proportion for overweight and obesity based on parental and measured reports differed slightly. In the youngest age group, the proportion of overweight children was overestimated, while it was underestimated for older children and adolescents. Main predictors of the difference between parent reported and measured values were age, gender, weight status and parents’ perception of the child’s weight. In summary, the exclusive use of uncorrected parental reports for assessment of prevalence rates of weight status is not recommended.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparison of BMI Derived from Parent-Reported Height and Weight with Measured Values: Results from the German KiGGS Study

Brettschneider

Ellert

Rosario

2012

IJERPH

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“…Several studies have found parental perception of weight status to be inaccurate, and inaccuracies occur at a higher rate for children who are at risk or are overweight compared with children of normal weight, 30 a finding that has been replicated in several countries. 11 We hypothesized that there would be a significant negative relationship between parent view of child weight status and child obesity status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Obesity Screening in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Vaughn¹,

Nabors²,

Pelley³

et al. 2012

Pediatric Emergency Care

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Objectives The purposes of this study were (1) to examine parental perception of childhood obesity and race with measured body mass index (BMI), (2) to determine if parents are receptive to obesity screening in the pediatric emergency department and if receptivity varies by race or weight status, and (3) to determine eating habits that are predictors of obesity. Methods This study is a cross-sectional study, with a convenience sample of 213 patients (aged 4–16 years accompanied by a parent/legal guardian to a pediatric emergency department). Weight and height were obtained, and parents were asked to complete a survey about perception of their child’s weight, nutrition, and exercise habits. Results The current study found that parent perception of weight status was fairly accurate, and perception was predictive of BMI. Race, however, was not predictive of BMI. Parents were generally receptive of weight screening in the pediatric emergency department, and this did not vary as a function of weight status; however, receptivity did vary based on ethnicity, with African American parents being more receptive than white parents. Large portion sizes and the number of times a child eats fast food per week were found to be predictive of obesity. Conclusions Greater than half of the children presenting to our pediatric emergency department were overweight or obese. Parents were generally accurate in their perception of their child’s weight but were still receptive to obesity prevention and screening in the pediatric emergency department.

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“…While parental estimates of children with normal weight were accurate in the vast majority of the cases, nearly half of the underweight children were overestimated [18]. The high frequency of overestimation for underweight children has been replicated by other studies with Swedish [19] and Norwegian [20] samples. Although there are fewer studies on this specific misperception, the high prevalence found so far and possible risks of not recognizing underweight with regard to development and growth [21] make this an important research topic in addition to the underestimation of excessive weight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

In the parents’ view: weight perception accuracy, disturbed eating patterns and mental health problems among young adolescents

et al. 2014

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BackgroundAn accurate weight perception has been associated with motivation to change eating habits in the case of under- or overweight. However, recent studies have reported frequent misperceptions among parents and their offspring, both in the form of under- and overestimation of weight status. The aim of the present study was to investigate weight perception accuracy among parents of young adolescents in relation to reports on disturbed eating patterns and mental health problems.MethodsWeight perception accuracy was assessed among parents of young adolescents (N = 5,781, aged 11 - 13 years) who participated in the ongoing Bergen Child Study (BCS). Parental weight perception was classified in overestimation, underestimation and accurate. Other measures included demographic variables, the parents’ evaluations of disturbed eating patterns and mental health problems among their offspring as well as the adolescents’ own weight perception accuracy.ResultsThe parents accurately perceived more than 80% of normal weight adolescents, but nearly 60% of the underweight adolescents were overestimated, and a substantial proportion of overweight girls (34. 8%) and boys (12.8%) were underestimated. In general, parents who were aware of deviations from average weight in their child also reported higher levels of disturbed eating patterns, emotional problems, and behavioral problems. After controlling for demographic factors, the risk of parental over- and underestimation was significantly predicted by weight status, the adolescents’ weight perception accuracy as well as disturbed eating patterns reported by the parents (p < .05).ConclusionsAdolescents with under- or overweight proved most likely to be misperceived by their parents in this study. The pattern of perceptually correcting deviations from normal weight was interpreted as a positivity bias among the parents. These results suggest that weight perception accuracy should be targeted in family-focused interventions in order to strengthen adequate weight control among young adolescents.

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Perception versus Reality

Cited by 54 publications

References 23 publications

Comparison of BMI Derived from Parent-Reported Height and Weight with Measured Values: Results from the German KiGGS Study

Comparison of BMI Derived from Parent-Reported Height and Weight with Measured Values: Results from the German KiGGS Study

Obesity Screening in the Pediatric Emergency Department

In the parents’ view: weight perception accuracy, disturbed eating patterns and mental health problems among young adolescents

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