Parents’ perception of their children as overweight may have negative effects on their children’s health. Chances are that they may gain more weight than normal.
Children whose parents identified them as being overweight, had a negative perception of their own body size. They were more likely to try losing weight. These factors partly account for their weight gain, suggests a study.
Researchers Eric Robinson at the University of Liverpool and Angelina Sutin from the Florida State University College of Medicine conducted the study. The report was published in the journal Psychological Science.
“When a parent identifies a child as being overweight, that child is at increased risk of future weight gain,” said Robinson.
Parents’ identification of their children as overweight was considered an important prerequisite to tackle childhood obesity. However, recent findings show that such perceptions puts the child at a higher risk of increased weight gain during childhood.
Researchers examined data from 2,823 Australian families and 5,886 Irish families. They began studying the children from ages 4 or 5. The experts asked parents if they felt their child was underweight, normal weight, overweight or very overweight. They also measured the children’s height and weight.
Later, at the age of 12 or 13, the researchers recorded how the children perceive their body size. The children were asked to select an image that closely resembled their own body size from a series of images. The children also reported whether they had attempted to lose weight over the past 12 months. Further, at the age of 14 or 15, the researchers took measurements of their height and weight.
Analysis indicate that children whose parents considered them to be overweight at age 4 or 5 tended to gain more weight by age 14 or 15. It shows that absolutely healthy children identified as overweight by their parents, ended up being overweight teenagers. Results were the same for boys and girls. Other factors such as household income, presence of a medical condition, and parents’ weight could not explain these results.
“The stigma attached to being an overweight child may explain why children whose parents view them as being overweight tend to have elevated weight gain during development,” explains Sutin.
