Most parents of overweight or obese children think their child is healthy, a new research shows.
The study published in the journal Pediatrics states that more than three-quarters of parents see their obese children as "about the right weight," HealthDay reports. Compared to the parents in 80s and 90s, today's parents are unable to realize their children's weight management issues.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data gathered from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted regularly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since the early 1960s.
Researchers calculated the weight and the height of the children to calculate the body-mass index (BMI). The team asked the parents whether they thought their children to be overweight, underweight or just about the right weight.
The study findings showed that 51 percent of parents surveyed between 1988 and 1994 considered their child to be overweight or obese. The number dropped to 44 percent between 2005 and 2010.
Researchers said that obesity has doubled in children aged between 6 and 11 from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2012.
"The society as a whole is stuck with a vicious cycle," senior study author Dr Jian Zhang, an associate professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, told HealthDay. "Parents incorrectly believe their kids are healthy, they are less likely to take action, and so it increases the likelihood that their kids will become even less healthy."
According to Zhang, over time medical definitions of obesity and overweight have become "overly complicated." It makes difficult for parents to properly implement the standard to their child. "The recommendation developed by the CDC is fairly complicated, and it can be very hard for parents to understand that," he said.
Moreover, Zhang said that the parents might be hesitant to call their children obese or overweight because of the stigma attached with the term.
