Parents, Health Experts Disagree on Whether Children are Overweight, Poll Finds

A new poll shows that many parents do not believe their children are overweight.

National statistics suggest that nearly one-third of all children are either overweight or obese according to their body mass index. But when parents were asked about their children’s weight, only 15 percent said their child needed to lose weight, a news release from the Harvard School of Public Health states.

“We know that nearly one in three kids in American is overweight or obese, and that’s a national emergency,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Better nutrition and more physical activity can help turn this epidemic around, and parents have a unique role to play. Knowing the risks of obesity and dealing with the issue proactively can improve kids’ health now and prevent serious problems down the road.”

The poll, conducted by the foundation, Harvard School of Public Health and National Public Radio, assessed a nationally representative sample of children from ages 2 to 17 by interviewing parents or caregivers on what the adolescents ate, drank and did the day before the poll.

“People often have a hard time making the connection between national problems and their own families,” said Gillian SteelFisher, assistant director of the Harvard Opinion Research Program. “Tackling these blind spots can be a difficult, even if necessary, element of public education.”

Other findings from the poll include:

• Almost one-fourth of children ate dinner while the TV was on or someone was using a cell phone, laptop or iPod. Previous research suggests that eating meals without distractions, especially TV, are associated with lower obesity rates.
• Ninety-six percent of children had been to family events in the past year where foods with high fat or sugar content were served. Among those kids, about half live with a parent who feels that “family celebrations are a time to take a break from being concerned about eating in a way that can lead to unhealthy weight gain.” And close to one-third live in a home where the parent said that the holidays don’t feel like a celebration without foods that contain high amounts of fat or sugar.
• Only 20 percent of children had a parent who was concerned that they would grow up to be overweight. However, “it is estimated that 69 percent of adults are overweight, including 36 percent who are obese and an additional 6 percent who have ‘extreme obesity.’ Together, these results indicate that parents may underestimate their children’s current risk for being overweight or obese, and how that risk could continue to impact them as adults.”