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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Parental perception and childhood obesity: Contributors to incorrect perception
Hiba Ashraf1, Nida Ilyas Shamsi1, Ruhma Ashraf2
1The Indus Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
Insights
Many parents inaccurately perceive their child's weight status. Factors like child's age and body mass index significantly influence this misperception, highlighting a need for better awareness.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Public Health
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing global concern.
- Accurate parental perception of child weight is crucial for early intervention.
- Misperceptions can hinder timely management of weight-related health issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parental recognition of their child's weight status.
- To identify factors contributing to incorrect parental perceptions of child weight.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving parents of children aged 5-14 years.
- Utilized interviewer-based questionnaires with anthropometric measurements.
- Employed univariate and multivariate logistic regression for risk factor analysis.
Main Results:
- Over half (58.7%) of parents incorrectly perceived their child's weight.
- Child's age, body mass index, and parental occupation were significant risk factors for misperception.
- Data collected from 305 parent-child pairs.
Conclusions:
- A significant discrepancy exists between children's measured and perceived weight by parents.
- Addressing parental misperceptions is vital for effective childhood weight management strategies.
Objective:
To determine parental recognition of their child's weight, and to identify the contributing reasons for incorrect perception.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted from April to October 2010 at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and comprised parents of healthy children aged 5-14 years. An interviewer-based pre-tested questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic details, anthropometric measurements, and parental perception about their child's weight was administered. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression were applied to assess for the risk factors associated with incorrect parental perception.
Results:
Parents of a total of 330 eligible children were approached, but 305(92.4%) agreed to participate. Of them, 196(64.3%) were mothers and 109(35.7%) were fathers. Overall, 179(58.7%) parents incorrectly perceived their child's weight status. On univariate regression analysis, age (p=0.001) and body mass index of the child (p=0.006) and parental occupation (p=0.018) were significant risk factors of incorrect perception.
Conclusions:
Marked difference was observed between measured and perceived weight of children by the parents.
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