Intervention and Prevention
Obesity (2008) 16 3, 630–636. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.108
Parental Recognition of Overweight in School-age Children
Delia S. West1, James M. Raczynski1, Martha M. Phillips2,3, Zoran Bursac4, C. Heath Gauss4 and Brooke E.E. Montgomery1
- 1Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- 2Center for Public Health Practice, Arkansas Division of Health, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- 3Department of Epidemiology, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
- 4Department of Biostatisitics, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Correspondence: Delia S. West (westdelia@uams.edu)
Received 31 July 2007; Accepted 15 November 2007; Published online 17 January 2008.
Abstract
Objective:
Examine the accuracy of parental weight perceptions of overweight children before and after the implementation of childhood obesity legislation that included BMI screening and feedback.
Methods and Procedures:
Statewide telephone surveys of parents of overweight (BMI 
85th percentile) Arkansas public school children before (n = 1,551; 15% African American) and after (n = 2,508; 15% African American) policy implementation were examined for correspondence between parental perception of child's weight and objective classification.
Results:
Most (60%) parents of overweight children underestimated weight at baseline. Parents of younger children were significantly more likely to underestimate (65%) than parents of adolescents (51%). Overweight parents were not more likely to underestimate, nor was inaccuracy associated with parental education or socioeconomic status. African-American parents were twice as likely to underestimate as whites. One year after BMI screening and feedback was implemented, the accuracy of classification of overweight children improved (53% underestimation). African-American parents had significantly greater improvements than white parents (P < 0.0001).
Discussion:
Parental recognition of childhood overweight may be improved with BMI screening and feedback, and African-American parents may specifically benefit. Nonetheless, underestimation of overweight is common and may have implications for public health interventions.
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