Parents Unable to Notice if Their Children are Overweight

Parents are supposed to help their kids manage their weight, but what would happen if the parents cannot precisely judge if the child needs to lose or gain some pounds? A recent Australian study has found out.

The study, which is published November in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, has found that parents often misjudge their child's weight, whether they are overweight or obese. Because of this, they often fail to help the child lose excess weight to be healthy.

“The inaction based on misguided perception is of major concern,” study co-author Dr. Christina Pollard, from the Department of Health in Western Australia and Curtin University School of Public Health in Perth, told Reuters. “Taking action to improve diet and physical activity during childhood can help children avoid a lifetime of being overweight or obese.”

For the study, Pollard and her colleagues analyzed data collected from 4,437 parents from 2009 to 2012, as part of the Western Australia Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System (WAHWSS). Their children ranged from ages five to 12.

The parents were asked as to how they see their respective child's weight condition: either underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. They were also asked as to their plans or intentions regarding their child's weight condition.

Most of the parents thought that their child had normal weight, irregardless of what body mass index (BMI) numbers say. Parents, who said their child was obese, stated that they had planned to help the child lose excess weight. However, only about 61 percent of parents who thought their child was overweight planned to do the same.

When the researchers looked at all parent reports indicating that their child needed to either gain or lose weight, they discovered more problematic findings.

They found out that, overall, more than half of parents who had an obese child didn't plan on helping his/her kid lose weight and only 23 percent of parents who had an obese child had plans to address the issue.

For those whose kids were underweight, about 70 percent didn't plan to do anything about it.

Pollard said that a parent's wrong perception of their child's weight could be brought about by being unaware of what a “healthy” body looks like. As the mean BMI continues to go higher, she said, so will the public's idea of a “healthy” body weight also.

“This is a problem because correct perception of overweight or underweight is essential to prompt action and early intervention,” Pollard concluded in a press release.