Many parents may not recognize child obesity
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New research says many parents in the UK may not be aware that their children have a weight
problem unless they are extremely obese. The finding has prompted suggestions that more needs to
be done to help parents understand official measures of overweight and obesity, the health risks
associated with childhood obesity, and how to promote healthier lifestyles in their
children.
The team - on the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine as well as the UCL Institute of Child Health, also in London - reports the findings inside the British Journal of General Practice.
The researchers also learned that parents may underestimate their son or daughter's weight if your child is male, or if they may be black or south Asian or from deprived backgrounds.
They say understanding these variations inside population should help policymakers better target awareness raising and programs to deal with the problem of obesity.
Over yesteryear 30 years, weight problems in children has been increasing from the UK as within the US, where based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's got more than doubled in kids and quadrupled in adolescents.
Parents very likely to make changes whether they can correctly classify children's weight
Evidence that carrying excess fat and obese in early childhood is linked to improve risk of premature death and disease in adulthood has generated public health initiatives aimed towards getting parents to alter children's lifestyles and diet.
However, they have already been suggested the interventions are unlikely to be effective unless parents view the government's official scales for measuring weight problems in children.
Senior author in the new study, Dr. Sanjay Kinra, reader in clinical epidemiology with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says:
"If parents are not able to accurately classify their unique child's weight, they can not be willing or motivated to enact the modifications to the child's environment that promote healthy weight maintenance."
So, Dr. Kinra and colleagues started look on the scale of the condition and find out if this was a similar in all groups.
The team analyzed data from questionnaires that had been filled in because of the parents of 2,976 children in five different health regions in the UK which can be taking part from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP).
The NCMP has found out that about one inch five children inside Reception year (age 4-5) is obese, which proportion rises to about one out of three by Year 6 (age 10-11).
Nearly 1 / 3 of parents underestimated the youngster's BMI category
The new study finds that nearly one third of parents (915 respondents) underestimated where their children's BMI sat about the government's official scale. This scale classifies children as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or very overweight (or obese).
The researchers also learned that only four parents regarded the youngster as being very overweight or obese, despite 369 on the children falling into this category.
Only when children were for the very high end on the obesity scale were parents prone to put their child inside right category.
Co-author Russell Viner, academic pediatrician and professor on the UCL Institute of Child Health, says:
"Measures that limit the gap between parental perceptions of child weight status and obesity scales made use of by medical professionals may certainly be needed in order to aid parents better view the health risks connected with overweight and increase uptake of healthier lifestyles."
The National Institute for Health Research funded the analysis, which forms part on the PROMISE project that aims to enhance the assessment and treatment of kids through research. Prof. Viner and Dr. Kinra are leading the project.
Physical activity along with a healthy diet are two on the areas the federal government advises parents to focus on to help you overweight children reach and keep a healthier weight.
But schools may make a difference. For example, Medical News Today recently stumbled on a trial that found bringing chefs into school kitchens may help make healthy meals more palatable to children so that they eat more fruit and veggies.
The researchers also learned that parents may underestimate their son or daughter's weight if your child is male, or if they may be black or south Asian or from deprived backgrounds.
They say understanding these variations inside population should help policymakers better target awareness raising and programs to deal with the problem of obesity.
Over yesteryear 30 years, weight problems in children has been increasing from the UK as within the US, where based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's got more than doubled in kids and quadrupled in adolescents.
Parents very likely to make changes whether they can correctly classify children's weight
Evidence that carrying excess fat and obese in early childhood is linked to improve risk of premature death and disease in adulthood has generated public health initiatives aimed towards getting parents to alter children's lifestyles and diet.
However, they have already been suggested the interventions are unlikely to be effective unless parents view the government's official scales for measuring weight problems in children.
Senior author in the new study, Dr. Sanjay Kinra, reader in clinical epidemiology with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says:
"If parents are not able to accurately classify their unique child's weight, they can not be willing or motivated to enact the modifications to the child's environment that promote healthy weight maintenance."
So, Dr. Kinra and colleagues started look on the scale of the condition and find out if this was a similar in all groups.
The team analyzed data from questionnaires that had been filled in because of the parents of 2,976 children in five different health regions in the UK which can be taking part from the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP).
The NCMP has found out that about one inch five children inside Reception year (age 4-5) is obese, which proportion rises to about one out of three by Year 6 (age 10-11).
Nearly 1 / 3 of parents underestimated the youngster's BMI category
The new study finds that nearly one third of parents (915 respondents) underestimated where their children's BMI sat about the government's official scale. This scale classifies children as underweight, healthy weight, overweight or very overweight (or obese).
The researchers also learned that only four parents regarded the youngster as being very overweight or obese, despite 369 on the children falling into this category.
Only when children were for the very high end on the obesity scale were parents prone to put their child inside right category.
Co-author Russell Viner, academic pediatrician and professor on the UCL Institute of Child Health, says:
"Measures that limit the gap between parental perceptions of child weight status and obesity scales made use of by medical professionals may certainly be needed in order to aid parents better view the health risks connected with overweight and increase uptake of healthier lifestyles."
The National Institute for Health Research funded the analysis, which forms part on the PROMISE project that aims to enhance the assessment and treatment of kids through research. Prof. Viner and Dr. Kinra are leading the project.
Physical activity along with a healthy diet are two on the areas the federal government advises parents to focus on to help you overweight children reach and keep a healthier weight.
But schools may make a difference. For example, Medical News Today recently stumbled on a trial that found bringing chefs into school kitchens may help make healthy meals more palatable to children so that they eat more fruit and veggies.
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