Parents may not see child as overweight

SEATTLE, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Many parents do not accurately perceive their children as overweight or at risk for adulthood obesity, U.S. researchers report.

Rona L. Levy and her colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of Minnesota measured parental perceptions of their children's current weight and perceived risk for developing obesity as an adult.

Forty-six parents of children ages 5 to 9 with a body mass index in the 70th percentile or higher were recruited for the study. Child height and weight were measured during a routine pediatric clinic visit.

Parents were mailed a series of questionnaires, which included questions on their perception of their child's current weight, and whether they perceived that their child was at risk for developing obesity as an adult.

Levy and her team found that even though all of the children had elevated BMI, fewer than 13 percent of the parents of overweight kids reported their child as currently overweight.

The study found fewer than one-third perceived their child's risk for adult obesity was above average or very high.

The findings were presented at the American College of Gastroenterology's 73rd annual scientific meeting in Orlando, Fla.