The Role of Parental Misperception of Child's Body Weight in Childhood Obesity
Section snippets
Data Source and Participants
This study used pooled cross-sectional survey data collected between 2009 and 2012 via telephone interviews by the Wolfgang Frese Survey Laboratory at the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University. During each year of the survey time frame, independent samples of approximately 3,700 Mississippi parents were collected. This survey was part of a larger evaluation of the Mississippi Healthy Students Act of 2007 and part of a multi-year report commissioned by the Robert Wood
Results
Of the parents surveyed, 54.4% were White (7,808), and 45.6% were Black (6,552), an equitable representation of the racial makeup in Mississippi. Demographic characteristics of the survey participants are presented in Table 1, Table 2. Surveyed parents (Table 1) comprised of 82.8% females and 17.2% males; the majority of parents (64.2%) were between the ages of 36–55, followed by 20–35 (19.7%), under age 20 (6.8%), ages 56–65 (6.6%), and over age 65 (2.8%). The education levels of parents in
Discussion
We found that 86.2% of parents misperceived their child's weight when the child was overweight or obese. The difference between parental perceptions of their child's weight status and the actual BMI was most striking with young children (kindergarteners). In fact, 97.6% of parents with overweight or obese kindergarteners misperceived their child's weight status. This is alarming because recognizing and addressing childhood obesity at an early age is critical to taking steps toward preventing a
Limitations
The study used self-reported height and weight data to calculate BMI, which may be a concern for validity and value in obesity studies, as individuals tend to report themselves as thinner, healthier and more active than they actually are (Kolbo et al., 2006). However, an assessment found that self-reported height and weight measures can be reliable and valid (Brener, Mcmanus, Galuska, Lowry, & Wechsler, 2003). The majority of participants in this study were women (83%); male respondents in the
Conclusion
Only 54.5% of the children in this study had a healthy weight, according to their BMI calculations. Overwhelmingly, parents of overweight and obese children incorrectly misperceived their child's BMI weight categories, with overweight and obese children being misperceived 86.2% of the time compared to 15.6% for healthy weight children. Current literature recognizes these findings, reinforcing the call to action for health care providers to assist in helping parents and children to correctly
Statement of Disclosure
There are no potential conflicts of interest, real or perceived, for the authors of this manuscript. Our sponsors had no role in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge Therese Hanna of the Center for Mississippi Health Policy, the Mississippi Department of Education, Arthur G. Cosby of the Social Science Research (SSRC) of Mississippi State University (MSU), John Edwards of the SSRC Wolfgang Frese Survey Research Laboratory, and the MSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry & Veterinary Medicine for their support and assistance. We also gratefully acknowledge research colleagues Troy Blanchard, Ginger Cross, Heather Hanna, Anne
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