Parents often consider their obese children to be "very healthy" rather than fat, a new study finds.
Researchers from the University of California said that parents of obese children often overlook the serious health consequences of childhood obesity or the importance of daily physical activity in helping their child reach a healthy weight.
"Parents have a hard time changing their child's dietary and physical activity behaviors," said lead author Kyung Rhee in a press statement. "Our study tells us what factors may be associated with a parent's motivation to help their child become more healthy."
For the study, researchers examined 202 parents whose children were enrolled in an obesity clinic at the Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2008 and 2009. The children were aged between 5 and 20 years and about 66.6 percent were females. More than 94 percent of the children were classified as clinically obese. In the study, the parents were asked questions about their eagerness to change their child's eating habits and physical activity levels.
The researchers were surprised to find that 31.4 percent of parents perceived their child's health as excellent or very good and 28 percent did not perceive their child's weight as a health concern.
Among those that showed readiness to improve their child's lifestyle, about 61.4 percent were more willing to change their child's diet rather than encourage pediatrician-recommended hour of daily physical activity. Only 41.1 percent said they were increasing their child's involvement in active play, sports, dancing or even walking.
The study authors clarified that education, income and race/ethnicity had no significant influence on a parent's likelihood of making dietary changes for their child. Researchers were not able to determine why parents didn't emphasize the importance of physical activities to their children. The findings, however, do give rise to some serious concerns as previous studies have established that current generation children, teenagers and youth are rapidly substituting playtime with "screen time."
Obesity is proving to be a heavy burden for the nation's kids and teens. Experts have known for years that hauling around extra pounds takes a huge toll on children's health. It puts them at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and other health problems. A study in 2005 found that children today may lead shorter lives by two to five years than their parents because of obesity.
Parents can play a big role in preventing childhood obesity. According to the American Psychological Association, parents can keep this weight disorder at bay by fostering environmental change in their communities.
The current study was published online in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
