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A cluster randomised trial testing an intervention to improve parents' recognition of their child's weight status:
Kathryn N Parkinson1,2, Angela R Jones3,4, Martin J Tovee5
1Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, William Leech Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK. kathryn.parkinson@ncl.ac.uk.
Insights
Parental perception of child weight status is often inaccurate. The Map Me intervention, using visual scales, aims to improve this accuracy, potentially leading to better childhood obesity management and health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Child Health
- Public Health Interventions
- Obesity Prevention
Background:
- Parental recognition of childhood overweight is frequently inaccurate, hindering timely intervention.
- The Map Me intervention was developed to address this by improving parental perception of child weight status.
- Accurate perception is crucial for parents to take appropriate action regarding their child's weight.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the effectiveness of the novel Map Me visual intervention in improving parental perception of child weight status.
- To evaluate the impact of paper-based and web-based Map Me interventions compared to a control group.
- To assess secondary outcomes including parental knowledge, behavioral intentions, and child weight status.
Main Methods:
- A cluster randomised trial involving primary schools and parents of children aged 4-5 and 10-11 years.
- Intervention groups received paper-based or web-based Map Me, while the control group received no information.
- Data collected included parental perception of child weight status, knowledge, and child measurements from the National Child Measurement Programme.
Main Results:
- The primary outcome is the difference in accuracy of parental perception of child weight status pre- and post-intervention at one month.
- Secondary outcomes include changes in parental knowledge, lifestyle behavior intentions, and child weight status at 12-month follow-up.
- The study will provide data on the effectiveness of Map Me in improving parental recognition of childhood overweight.
Conclusions:
- The Map Me tool shows potential for population-level impact on children's health by enhancing parental perception of weight status.
- This intervention could be integrated into existing programs to improve childhood obesity management.
- Findings will inform researchers, educators, health professionals, and policymakers on childhood weight interventions.
Background:
Parents typically do not recognise their child's weight status accurately according to clinical criteria, and thus may not take appropriate action if their child is overweight. We developed a novel visual intervention designed to improve parental perceptions of child weight status according to clinical criteria for children aged 4-5 and 10-11 years. The Map Me intervention comprises age- and sex-specific body image scales of known body mass index and supporting information about the health risks of childhood overweight.
Design:
This cluster randomised trial will test the effectiveness of the Map Me intervention. Primary schools will be randomised to: paper-based Map Me; web-based Map Me; no information (control). Parents of reception (4-5 years) and year 6 (10-11 years) children attending the schools will be recruited. The study will work with the National Child Measurement Programme which measures the height and weight of these year groups and provides feedback to parents about their child's weight status. Before receiving the feedback, parents will complete a questionnaire which includes assessment of their perception of their child's weight status and knowledge of the health consequences of childhood overweight. The control group will provide pre-intervention data with assessment soon after recruitment; the intervention groups will provide post-intervention data after access to Map Me for one month. The study will subsequently obtain the child height and weight measurements from the National Child Measurement Programme. Families will be followed-up by the study team at 12 months. The primary outcome is any difference in accuracy in parental perception of child weight status between pre-intervention and post-intervention at one month. The secondary outcomes include differences in parent knowledge, intention to change lifestyle behaviours and/or seek advice or support, perceived control, action planning, coping planning, and child weight status at 12 month follow-up.
Discussion:
The Map Me tool has potential to make a positive impact on children's health at a population level by introducing it into current intervention programmes to improve accuracy of parental perception of child's weight status. This trial will inform the action of researchers, educators, health professionals and policy makers.
Trial Registration:
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN91136472. Registered 3 May 2013.
