Parents in America and Overweight Kids

New research published by Newsweek reveals that parents in America mistakenly believe their kids are leaner than they are. A new poll included in the report finds that the majority of Americans believe that childhood obesity is a “significant and growing challenge for the country,” and yet 84 percent say their children are at a healthy weight. Nearly one third of children and teens are overweight, which means their body mass index, or BMI, falls between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age and sex,  or obese, at or above the 95th percentile.

Americans understand there’s a problem; they just don’t think their kids are a part of it. Skewed weight perception is a well-known phenomenon in the research world. In one study, only one third of parents of overweight kids recognized their child’s weight status accurately and few were worried that it might be a problem. In another, 60 percent of parents of overweight children inaccurately identified their child as healthy weight or even underweight. African-American parents were more likely to underestimate than white parents. And in a study of a low-income Latino population, mothers preferred a plumper figure for their children than themselves. This is especially worrisome given the trends in black and Latino obesity rates and the health problems—diabetes, heart disease, cancer—that can ensue.

Source: Newsweek