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Date Posted: 15:19:58 06/08/04 Tue
Author: J.R.Smith,c.f.t.,s.p.n.,s.s.c. -ISSA
Subject: Many Parents Clueless About Children's Weight

Many Parents Clueless About Children's Weight


Reuters Health

By Merritt McKinney

Friday, June 4, 2004



NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As many as half of all children in middle school may be overweight or at risk of being overweight, according to the results of a new U.S. study. However, the results of a study from the UK indicate that many parents do not see a problem.

"Parents are unaware that their children are overweight or obese," study author Alison N. Jeffery of Derriford Hospital and Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth told Reuters Health in an interview.

What's most troubling is that "most were unconcerned" about their children's weight, said Jeffery, who is a senior research nurse on the study.

The results of both the US and UK studies were presented Friday at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in Orlando.

About a third of obese girls and about half of obese boys were considered to weigh "about right" by their parents, Jeffery's team found in a study of 300 children and their families.

Moreover, a third of mothers and half of fathers who were overweight or obese themselves considered their own weight to be "about right."

Children were no better at judging their weight. When asked to rate themselves based on body mass index (BMI), a measure that takes into account weight and height, 51 percent of children underestimated their BMI.

Social class, parental education and family income were not related to actual or perceived BMI, Jeffery said.

Part of the problem, she said, is that "overweight is now seen as the norm." The UK researcher noted that some parents of normal-weight children were concerned that their children were underweight.

"We've got to consider the awareness of parents" when confronting overweight and obesity in children, Jeffery said. "We're losing out."

In the American study, which included 1,700 eighth-grade students, nearly 50 percent were overweight or were at risk of being overweight, lead researcher Dr. Francine Kaufman of Children's Hospital of Los Angeles told Reuters Health in an interview.

Kaufman and her colleagues found that about 40 percent of children had pre-diabetes, which is marked by above-normal levels of blood glucose. In addition, nearly half of the students had low levels of HDL, the "good" form of cholesterol, and many had blood pressure that was above normal for their age.

Although only a few students had diabetes, the widespread presence of pre-diabetes and other risk factors meant that children may be at risk of developing diabetes down the road.

"These findings suggest that school - particularly middle school - is an excellent place to deliver diabetes prevention strategies," Kaufman said.

It is important to promote a healthy lifestyle during childhood because children "get into health behaviors that often track throughout their lives," according to Kaufman.

The study being reported this week is a pilot study that is part of a larger study that will test ways to improve the health and diet of middle-school students. "We were compelled to action" by the initial findings, Kaufman commented.

In the study, researchers will alter and improve the "nutritional environment" in schools, including cafeterias, vending machines and school stores, Kaufman said. Schools that participate will also increase the time students spend in moderate to vigorous physical activity in P.E. class, according to Kaufman.

The study will also include special efforts to "energize" children to take advantage of healthier choices and to promote healthy lifestyles away from school, too, Kaufman said.

About 100 schools in several states will participate in the study, with some receiving the intervention and some not. The results of the study should be available in 2009, Kaufman said.

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