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Parental misperception of child’s weight and related factors within family norms

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Parental perception of their child’s weight may be a crucial factor in parental ability for action with regard to their child’s weight problem. This aim of this study was to investigate parental perception of their child’s weight status and dietary healthiness, amount of food consumed and physical activity level and its related factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among children (Grades 4–6) selected by cluster sampling in two schools. Children were invited to participate in the measurements of anthropometry and their parents were asked to classify their child’s weight and health behaviors.

Results

In total, 41.8% of parents misperceived their child’s weight, of which 82% underestimated their child’s weight, in particular regarding overweight or obesity. As parents of overweight or obese children underestimated their child’s weight, around 65% were not concerned with their child’s current weight and about becoming overweight in the future. Factor associated with underestimation of overweight children was not having a sibling, while among children with normal weight, the underestimation was associated with boys, lower body mass index (BMI), maternal employment and low household income. Furthermore, parents underestimating their child’s weight were more likely to be optimistic about their child’s dietary healthiness, food amount taken, and physical activity level than those with correct child’s weight estimates.

Conclusions

Findings show a high proportion of parental misperception of their child’s weight status. Family-based weight control interventions will need to incorporate parental misperceptions of the body weight and health behaviors of their children.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Thai Physical Activity Research Center–PARC, Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand

    Seo Ah Hong & Karl Peltzer

  2. Institute for Health and Society, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Seo Ah Hong

  3. Department of Research and Innovation, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa

    Karl Peltzer

  4. HIV/STIs and TB Research Programme, Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa

    Karl Peltzer

  5. Faculty of Physical Therapy, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

    Chutima Jalayondeja

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  1. Seo Ah Hong
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Correspondence to Seo Ah Hong.

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Conflict of interest

The authors had no conflict of interest and nothing to disclose.

Ethical approval

Before commencement of the study, ethical approval was granted from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), Mahidol University. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Hong, S.A., Peltzer, K. & Jalayondeja, C. Parental misperception of child’s weight and related factors within family norms. Eat Weight Disord 24, 557–564 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0399-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-017-0399-4

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