Parents' Oversight Feeding the Obesity Epidemic

A new study has uncovered one of the main reasons for the growing obesity epidemic in children; inability of parents in assessing their children's weight.

According to BBC, parents are unable to identify obesity in their wards because of growing waistline in the society, preventing them from understanding healthy weight. The study asked nearly 3,000 families to assess the weight of their children. While 31 percent of the parents estimated their children were underweight, only four percent felt their child was overweight. Every fifth child in the UK is said to be obese but parents can only tell if their child is overweight when the scales tip to extreme.

"If parents are unable to accurately classify their own child's weight, they may not be willing or motivated to enact the changes to the child's environment that promote healthy weight maintenance," said the study's author Sanjay Kinra.

The study found that parents are more likely to err if they are black or south Asian and are from deprived backgrounds. Weight of young boys can also mislead parents. If parents do not spot obesity in their children, it can dent public health, researchers felt.

"Measures that decrease the gap between parental perceptions of child weight status and obesity scales used by medical professionals may now be needed in order to help parents better understand the health risks associated with overweight and increase uptake of healthier lifestyles," said co-author Russell Viner.