Published online July 2, 2007
PEDIATRICS Vol. 120 No. 1 July 2007, pp. e112-e119 (doi:10.1542/10.1542/peds.2006-2143)

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ARTICLE

Parental Ability to Discriminate the Weight Status of Children: Results of a Survey

Jeannie S. Huang, MD, MPH^a,b, Karen Becerra, DDS^a, Thaghar Oda, MD^a, Edward Walker, BS^a, Ronghui Xu, PhD^c, Michael Donohue, PhD^c, Iris Chen^a, Violeta Curbelo, MD^d and Adam Breslow, MD^d

^c Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
^a Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, California
^b Department of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, California
^d Children's Primary Care Medical Group, San Diego, California

OBJECTIVES. In this study we aimed to explore parents' weight perceptions of their children and of unrelated children.

METHODS. Parents of children 18 years of age who were attending pediatric clinics throughout San Diego County, California, were surveyed concerning their children's weight status and the weight status of unrelated children in various age groups. Height and weight were measured, and weight status was determined for both the parent and child. The influence of various demographic variables on parents' weight perceptions and the relationship between parents' perceptions of weight of their children and parents' perceptions of weight of unrelated children were evaluated. Multivariate regression modeling was applied to identify predictors of parents' perceptions of weight of their own children.

RESULTS. Of 1098 parents surveyed, 87% were women, 74% were white, and 46% reported Hispanic ethnicity. Seventy percent of the parents surveyed were overweight or obese, and 39% of their children were at risk for overweight or overweight. Sixty-one percent of parents correctly identified their children's weight status, and parents were able to correctly identify the weight status of unrelated children in 58% of reviewed photographs. Parents' weight perceptions of their children were not related to their ability to determine the weight status of unrelated children or to their ideal weight selections among unrelated children. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, parental ability to correctly assess their child's weight status was associated with their child's age and weight status.

CONCLUSIONS. Parents' perceptions of their own children's weight status are influenced by their children's characteristics and do not seem to correspond with their weight perceptions of unrelated children. Parental recognition of weight issues in their offspring may be impeded by their inability to apply criteria used to ascertain the weight status of unrelated children to their own children.

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Key Words: childhood obesity • parenting • weight perception • weight status

Abbreviations: AROW—at risk for overweight

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Accepted Dec 12, 2006.

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				J. S. Huang, M. Donohue, K. Becerra, and Ronghui Xu Relationship Between Parents' and Children's Weight Perceptions Results of a Survey ICAN: Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition, February 1, 2009; 1(1): 15 - 20. [Abstract] [PDF]