Studies Children tend to become overweight when parents think they are too fat

The assessment of the parents influences the actual weight of the children
Most parents try to prevent their children from becoming overweight. Physicians have now found that even parents' assumption that their children are overweight can be enough to really make the children grow. Thus, even the caregiver of the parents against overweight of the offspring causes their children to increase.

Researchers have now found in an investigation that it can have a serious impact if parents believe that their children are overweight. Regardless of the real weight of the children, this assumption is enough to really increase the number of affected children. Florida State University College of Medicine researchers published the results of their study in the journal Pediatrics.

Scientists found that parents' assessment that their children are overweight can lead to obesity. (Image: kwanchaichaiudom / fotolia.com)

Study examines 3,500 children over a period of several years
Parenting seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, says co-author Angelina Sutin of the Florida State University College of Medicine. Should not parents usually take action if their children weigh too much? Not necessarily. Children who were overweight lost weight in the current study, when parents thought their children were normal body weight, Sutin explains. In this case, a misjudgment of the parents may even have a protective effect for the children. Although the study found a relationship between the perception of the parents and the weight of their children, but could not find a cause-effect relationship, the researchers say. The study was inspired by older studies that had previously found that adults who considered themselves overweight were gaining more weight than they would have under normal circumstances, adds Sutin. The new study now monitored more than 3,500 children and their parents. The physicians regularly examined the children every two years, from the age of four to 12, or from the age of five to thirteen. The parents had to answer questions during the examination as they took the weight of their child. 97 percent of respondents were mothers, the researchers say.

Examination builds on the body mass index
At the age of four to five years, three-quarters of the children had a normal healthy weight. Twenty percent of the children studied were actually overweight or even obese, but usually the parents of those affected considered the weight normal, the researchers explain. Over time, the medical profession found that overweight children continued to grow when parents saw them as overweight, Sutin explains. It was difficult to quantify in the study how much obesity the children had developed because the children were still growing. The importance of weight gain varies in childhood depending on the size, adds Sutin. The study was based on the frequently used measurement, the so-called body mass index (BMI). The BMI provides a rough estimate of body fat based on height and weight. In children, the BMI also takes age and gender into account, explain the experts. The study failed to determine how much BMI increased when parents assumed that their children were overweight. The physicians could also find no direct connection to the weight of the parents. However, there was no information on how the parents perceived their own weight, the experts add.

Why does the assessment have such an impact on the weight of the children?
An explanation of why parenting can have such consequences could be monitoring of food intake and physical activity, says Sutin. When adults feel stigmatized by weight, they tend to eat a lot and avoid physical activity. Similar effects could affect affected children, the researchers suspect. In addition, some children are rebellious in their attitude. The parents' attempt to limit food intake could well result in such children eventually eating more, explains Sutin.

Children need a healthy diet and physical activity
It is possible that parental obsession over weight transfers to their children that could lead to poorer mental health and evoke coping strategies such as overeating, the experts explain. There are few studies that look at how parents should best address their children's weight issues. More research is needed to find out how parents should best communicate with their children about their weight, say the physicians. Parents should, according to the researchers, generally educate their children about the importance of having healthy eating and physical activity for overall health, rather than focusing on weight, Sutin explains. It could be more effective as parents focus on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity for overall health and provide their children with many options for healthy diet and exercise in their daily lives, Sutin adds. (As)