Factors associated with parental underestimation of child's weight status

Journal Title: Jornal de Pediatria - Year 2018, Vol 94, Issue 2

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of parental misperception of child weight status, and identify socioeconomic, anthropometric, behavioral and dietary factors associated with underestimation. Method Cross-sectional study. Data was collected in 14 Brazilian private schools. Parents of children aged 2–8 years (n=976) completed a self-reported questionnaire assessing their perception of their child's weight status, and sociodemographic, anthropometric, behavioral and dietary information. To measure the agreement between parental perception about child weight status and actual child weight status, the Kappa coefficient was estimated, and to investigate associations between parental underestimation and independent variables, chi-squared tests were performed, followed by multiple logistic regression, considering p≤0.05 for statistical significance. Results Overall, 48.05% of the parents incorrectly classified their child's weight. Specifically, 45.08% underestimated their child's weight status, with just 3% of parents overestimating. Children with higher body mass index (OR=2.03; p<0.001) and boys (OR=1.70; p<0.001) were more likely to have their weight status underestimated by parents. Conclusion Since awareness of weight problems is essential for prevention and treatment, clinical practitioners should help parents at high risk of misperception to correctly evaluate their child's weight status.

Authors and Affiliations

Sarah Warkentin

Keywords

Related Articles

Do infants with cow's milk protein allergy have inadequate levels of vitamin D?

Objective To verify whether infants with cow's milk protein allergy have inadequate vitamin D levels. Methods This cross-sectional study included 120 children aged 2 years or younger, one group with cow's milk protein a...

Overview of meta-analysis on prevention and treatment of childhood obesity

Objectives This study aimed to assess the quality of systematic reviews on prevention and non-pharmacological treatment of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Data source A search was done in electronic...

Differences in cortisol concentrations in adolescents with eating disorders: a systematic review

Objective To perform a systematic review of the literature for scientific evidence of possible differences in cortisol concentrations in adolescents with eating disorders. Source of data Electronic searches were conduct...

Role of serum (1,3)-β-d-glucan assay in early diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in a neonatal intensive care unit

Objectives To study the microbiological pattern of late onset neonatal sepsis cultures and to assess the diagnostic performance of serum (1,3)-β-d-glucan level for early diagnosis of invasive fungemia in high-risk infant...

The association of sleep and late-night cell phone use among adolescents

Objective This study aims to assess the relationship of late-night cell phone use with sleep duration and quality in a sample of Iranian adolescents. Methods The study population consisted of 2400 adolescents, aged 12–1...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP483982
  • DOI 10.1016/j.jped.2017.05.010
  • Views 85
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Sarah Warkentin (2018). Factors associated with parental underestimation of child's weight status. Jornal de Pediatria, 94(2), 162-169. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-483982