ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2018
Do mothers accurately identify their child's overweight/obesity status during early childhood? Evidence from a nationally representative cohort study.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Factors Influencing Parents' and Children's Misperception of Children's Weight Status: a Systematic Review of Current Research.Current obesity reports · 2019Pooled it
- Parental estimates of children's weight status: evidence from Serbian children aged 6-9 years.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Can Adults Accurately Judge Child Weight Status?Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Determinants of child body weight categorization in parents and health care professionals: An experimental study.British journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- The MapMe Body Scales: Validity and Reliability of a Biometrically Accurate, Photorealistic Set of Child Body Size Scales.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Every cockroach is beautiful to his mother's eyes"? A multicentric study on the perception of child's health status according to the parent.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Predicting Childhood Obesity Based on Single and Multiple Well-Child Visit Data Using Machine Learning Classifiers.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Readiness to change among parents of overweight/obese children in Saudi Arabia and influencing factors.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2022Article
- Development and validation of the Child Weight Risk Questionnaire.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2022Article
- Parents' perceptions and dissatisfaction with child silhouette: associated factors among 7-year-old children of the Generation XXI birth cohort.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2021Article
- Describing the Process and Tools Adopted to Cocreate a Smartphone App for Obesity Prevention in Childhood: Mixed Method Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Article
- Parental neglect of feeding in obese individuals. A review of scientific evidence and its application among Saudi population.Saudi medical journal · 2020Article
- A 3-year longitudinal study of effects of parental perception of children's ideal body image on child weight change: The Childhood Obesity Study in China mega-cities.Preventive medicine · 2020Article
- Adverse childhood experiences are associated with an increased risk of obesity in early adolescence: a population-based prospective cohort study.Pediatric research · 2019Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundMaternal recognition of overweight/obesity during early childhood is a key determinant in achieving healthy weight status in children. The aim of this study is to 1) investigate maternal perceptions of their child weight, focusing on whether or not mothers accurately identify if their child is overweight or obese at three years old and five years old; 2) identify the factors influencing maternal misperceptions regarding their child's weight at three years old and five years old, 3) ascertain if a failure to recognize overweight/obesity at three years old is associated with the likelihood of doing so at five years old.
methodsUsing two waves of the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland study data regarding child, maternal, and household characteristics as well as healthcare access and utilization variables were obtained for mothers when their children are three and five years old respectively. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to examine the factors associated with mothers inaccurately perceiving their child to be of normal weight status when the child is in fact either clinically overweight or obese.
resultsIn wave 2, 22% of mothers failed to accurately identify their child to be overweight or obese. This inaccuracy decreased to 18% in wave 3. A failure of mothers to identify their child's overweight/obesity was more likely to occur if the child was a girl (OR: 1.25) (OR: 1.37), had a higher birth weight (OR:1.00), if the mother was obese (OR: 1.50), (OR: 1.72) or working (OR:1.25) (OR:1.16) in wave 2 and wave 3, respectively. Other factors affecting the odds of misperceiving child's weight include gestation age, income and urban living.
conclusionThese findings suggest that mothers of overweight or obese three and five year olds show poor awareness of their child's weight status. Both child and mother characteristics play a role in influencing this awareness. Mothers unable to accurately identify their child's overweight or obesity status at three years old are likely to do again when the child is five years old. This study highlights the need for increased support to help improve mothers' understanding of healthy body size in preschool aged children.
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