The findings of a new study, which may well surprise many, have revealed that majority of parents are not conscious if their child is heavy or obese.

The study, which appears in the February issue of Acta Paediatrica, was conducted by researchers of the University Medical Centre Groningen in The Netherlands.

Study details and findings
For the purpose of the study, researchers observed over 800 parents and 439 children aged four and five. Of the total participating children, five percent were overweight, four percent were obese, and the others were of normal weight.

The parents were asked to select their child's body shape from a set of seven different sketches.

It transpired that as many as 97 per cent of parents whose children had normal weight selected a lighter sketch than what the child’s data indicated.

Likewise, 95 per cent of the parents of overweight children and 62 percent of the parents of obese children chose lighter sketches.

The researchers found that close to 50 percent of the mothers and 39 percent of the fathers of the obese children thought their kids to be of normal weight.

In case of overweight children, 75 percent of the mothers and 77 percent of the fathers thought their kids had normal weight.

“Public perception of what is a normal weight has shifted upwards because more people are overweight or obese,” noted Prof Sauer.

“Overweight children are very likely to become overweight teenagers and adults, so intervening when they are aged between three and five could prevent weight problems later in life,” added Sauer.

“Our findings point to the need for health education programmes that encourage parents to recognise what is a normal healthy weight for their children and work with health professionals to tackle any weight problems,” suggested Sauer.

Parents’and child’s weight correlated
The parents were asked to furnish information on their child's height and weight, as well as their own vital statistics. Data on the child as well as on both parents was provided in 397 cases.

"We used this to compare the parents' assessment of their children with their own weight to see if there was any correlation,” said Professor Pieter Sauer from the Department of Pediatrics.

In general, the parents of overweight or obese children were considerably heavier vis-à-vis the parents of normal weight children.