Maternal concern and perceptions of overweight in Australian preschool-aged children
Michele W-C Campbell1, Joanne Williams, Anne Hampton
1Centre for Community Child Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC. michele.campbell@mcri.edu.au
Insights
Most Australian mothers are unconcerned about their preschooler
Area of Science:
- Pediatric health and nutrition
- Public health and epidemiology
- Childhood obesity research
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern globally and in Australia.
- Maternal perception of child weight status is a potential factor influencing health behaviors and interventions.
- Understanding maternal concern is crucial for developing effective childhood obesity prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate maternal concern regarding overweight status in Australian preschool-aged children.
- To identify factors associated with maternal concern about children's current and future weight.
- To compare maternal perceptions with measured child weight status.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional survey design utilizing child's measured body mass index (BMI) and parent questionnaires.
- Study conducted in Metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, involving 324 preschool-aged children and their mothers.
- Maternal reports on weight concern, weight perception, diet, and activity were analyzed against child's BMI and parent characteristics.
Main Results:
- 19% of preschool children were classified as overweight or obese.
- Only 5% of mothers expressed concern about their child's current weight, while 16% worried about future weight.
- Mothers of overweight children frequently perceived them as similar in weight to peers and underestimated weight-related risks, particularly for daughters.
Conclusions:
- A significant disconnect exists between the prevalence of childhood overweight and maternal concern in Australia.
- Maternal perception of child weight status often does not align with objective measurements, posing a challenge for interventions.
- Future interventions may need to address maternal awareness and perception of child weight as a primary step.
Objective:
To assess maternal concern about overweight in Australian preschool-aged children and factors predicting maternal concern about children's current and future weight status.
Design:
Cross-sectional survey of child's body mass index and parent questionnaire.
Setting:
Metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, 2002.
Participants:
A community-based cohort of 324 4-year-old children and their parents.
Main Outcome Measures:
Mothers' reports of concern about the child's current and future weight status, and perceptions of the child's weight, diet and activity relative to their peers were compared with the child's measured weight status, and parent and child characteristics.
Results:
The prevalence of overweight or obesity was 19%, but only 5% of mothers indicated concern about their child being currently overweight, while 16% worried their child would become overweight. Over 70% of mothers of overweight children saw them as being of similar weight to their peers. Most mothers saw their children as being equally or more active than other children and having a diet at least as healthy as their peers. Overweight daughters were more likely to elicit maternal concern about current weight than overweight sons (relative risk, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.1-19.8). Mothers were more likely to worry about their child's potential for future overweight if they or the child's father were overweight.
Conclusions:
Despite mounting public concern about childhood obesity in Australia, most mothers surveyed were not concerned about their child's weight, and many mothers did not perceive their overweight children as different from their peers. This may have implications for interventions that rely on acknowledgement of child overweight as a first step to change.
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