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Parental Perception of Weight and Feeding Practices in SchoolChildren: A Cross-Sectional Study
Patricia Inclán-López1, Raquel Bartolomé-Gutiérrez2, David Martínez-Castillo1
1Social and Health Care Research Center, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 16071 Cuenca, Spain.
Insights
Parental feeding practices influence childhood obesity. Many parents misperceive their child's weight status, highlighting a need for education on healthy eating and accurate weight detection.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Nutrition Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern.
- Parental feeding habits and weight perception are crucial in managing children's weight.
- Early detection and intervention are vital for addressing pediatric overweight and obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.
- To determine the relationship between children's weight status and parental feeding practices.
- To assess the extent of weight misperception among parents regarding their children's weight.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools.
- Children's weight status was objectively measured.
- Parental feeding practices and weight perception were assessed via questionnaires.
Main Results:
- Significant differences were observed in feeding practices based on children's weight status.
- Monitoring was the most common parental feeding practice.
- Weight misperception was prevalent (39.6%), with overweight children often perceived as normal weight (53.19%) and obese children as overweight (88.23%).
Conclusions:
- Inappropriate feeding practices necessitate targeted parental health education.
- Improving parental weight perception is essential for early detection of childhood overweight and obesity.
- Enhanced parental awareness can facilitate timely interventions and professional help-seeking.
Abstract:
Childhood obesity has become a public health problem. Parents play an important role in the transmission of feeding habits and the detection of their child's weight status. The aim was to analyse the prevalence of overweight/obesity and to determine the relationship between children's weight status, different feeding practices and weight misperception. A cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools. The children's weight status was measured, and a questionnaire was used to identify the feeding practices applied by parents and their perception of their children's weight. The sample comprised 127 children aged 4 and 5 years and 189 aged 10 and 11. Differences were observed between parental feeding practices and weight status, monitoring being the most used practice. Parents use less pressure to eat and more restriction if their children have overweight or obesity. Misperception of weight was 39.6%, being higher in overweight children, who were perceived as normal weight in 53.19%. Children classified as obese were perceived as overweight in 88.23%. The use of inappropriate eating practices shows a need for health education in parents according to weight status. In addition, the parents' perception should be improved to increase early detection of overweight and start actions or seek professional help.
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