Parents' 'Rose-Coloured Glasses' May Contribute To Childhood Obesity

The study, conducted by Dr Michele Campbell and colleagues at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, investigated how mothers of healthy four-year-olds perceived their children's weight and diet.

It found that, while 19 per cent of children were overweight or obese, only five per cent of mothers indicated concern about their child being overweight.

In fact, among mothers whose children were overweight or obese, over 70 per cent believed the children were of similar weight to their peers.

Nearly all mothers saw their children as being equally or more active than other children and having a diet at least as healthy.

Dr Campbell said the results reflected similar studies from America and the UK, but were surprising at one level, as there has been much publicity about obesity levels and the increasing nutrition problems of Australian children.

"The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australian preschool-aged children has doubled in the past 10-15 years, and is continuing to rise," Dr Campbell said.

"While there has been massive and sustained publicity about the growing weight problem in Australia, this study shows that general public awareness of a problem does not necessarily translate into concern at an individual level.

"This situation may have implications for interventions that rely on acknowledgement of a child's weight problem as a first step for change.

"The growing number of overweight children in our community may well have 'normalised' this condition and contributed to the inability of mothers to recognise overweight in their own children.

"In addition, stereotypes of overweight children in the media tend to be at the severe end of the spectrum, possibly distorting the lay perception of overweight.

"In fact, most overweight and obese young children do not stand out from the crowd.

"Another trend we identified was that mothers tended to be more concerned about daughters being overweight than sons.

"Mothers may be more sensitive to weight and body image issues for girls, while larger boys may be seen as having a physical advantage, and therefore may not see this as a problem.

"Health professionals can help improve recognition of childhood overweight.

"The charting of child body mass index (BMI) could be encouraged as a part of normal practice, not only to provide an objective measure of weight status, but also to reassure parents who are anxious about underweight, and to start discussion," Dr Campbell said.

The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.