ReviewObesity science & practice2021
Underestimation of overweight weight status in children and adolescents aged 0-19 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Obesity science & practice, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Caregiver Weight Misperception and Feeding Practices in U.S. Preschool-Aged Children: A Theory-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Effect of parent attendance at an adult commercial weight management programme on their children.BMJ paediatrics open · 2026Article
- Maternal Misperception of Child Body Size and Its Association with Information-Seeking Opportunities and Information Sources in Japanese Preschool Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Body weight perception and body self-esteem in adolescents with overweight or obesity in Costa Rica: challenges for public health policy.Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026Article
- Lifestyle Behaviors and Psychological Health in Adolescents with Overweight or Obesity: Cross-sectional Associations with Weight Underestimation.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2025Article
- Misaligned Attitudes and Perceptions Among Adolescents Living With Obesity, Caregivers and Healthcare Professionals: ACTION Teens Australia Survey Study.Journal of paediatrics and child health · 2025Observational
- Can Adults Accurately Judge Child Weight Status?Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes in Overweight Adolescent Pregnant Mothers.Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology of India · 2025Article
- Perceived body size across sex and weight categories and its association with body size dissatisfaction: a cross-sectional study among early primary school children in Norway.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Determinants of child body weight categorization in parents and health care professionals: An experimental study.British journal of health psychology · 2025Article
- Feasibility of engaging parents attending an adult weight management programme with child weight management support: a mixed methods study.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Article
- School participation in a health behavior program: qualitative perspectives from schools that did and did not adopt the iAmHealthy program.Translational behavioral medicine · 2025Article
- How Parents Perceive Their Children's Body Weight: Insights from a Sample of Schoolchildren from Vienna, Austria.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Waist-circumference-to-height-ratio had better longitudinal agreement with DEXA-measured fat mass than BMI in 7237 children.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Self-Perception Profile, Body Image Perception and Satisfaction in Relation to Body Mass Index: An Investigation in a Sample of Adolescents from the Campania Region, Italy.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Dietary patterns and child, parental, and societal factors associated with being overweight and obesity in Vietnamese children living in Ho Chi Minh city.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Association between cardiovascular risk and maternal perception of BMI in Peruvian schoolchildren.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The Perception of the Body Condition of Cats and Dogs by French Pet Owners and the Factors Influencing Underestimation.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- African American mothers' perceptions of infant body size are prospectively associated with infant growth and BMI.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPerceptions of children's weight status may be important in obesity prevention and treatment.
aimsThis review identifies the prevalence of the underestimation of overweight status in children by parents/main carers, children, and healthcare professionals (HCP). The review critically synthesized both quantitative and qualitative evidence to explore the factors associated with this underestimation. The diverse methods used to assess this phenomenon are reported.
methodsPooled effect sizes were calculated using random-effects model. Published studies, up to 2020, were accessed using the following search engines: CINAHL, EMBASE, PUBMED, and Psych-Info and including the "Cited by" and "Related Articles" functions. Hand-searching was used to retrieve further articles. Publication language and location had no bearing on the nature of the included studies.
resultsA total of 91 articles were included. In the quantitative studies, 55% (95% CI 49%-61%) of caregivers underestimated their child's level of overweight and obesity using a verbal scale and 47% (95% CI 36%-55%) using visual scales. Of the children studied, 34% (95% CI 25%-43%) underestimated their own level of overweight and obesity using both scales. In (
conclusionThe results confirm the prevalence of underestimation of child overweight status across international studies. Understanding the factors which lead to this inaccuracy may help to improve communication within the therapeutic triad and facilitate the recognition and management of children's overweight status.
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