Self‐rated and parent‐rated quality of life ( Q o L ) for community‐based obese and overweight children

Aims To determine the effects of being obese or overweight on quality of life ( Q o L ) of children from a community‐based sample and to compare their self‐ratings of Q o L with their parents' ratings for their children's Q o L . Methods Dyads of 8‐ to 12‐year‐old children [60 obese, 34 overweight and 127 normal weight (N = 221)] and their parents or caregivers were recruited from southern Taiwan. Q o L was assessed by both parent proxy ratings and child self‐ratings using the P ediatric Q uality of L ife I nventory ( P eds QL ) questionnaire. Results Obese children reported significantly lower Q o L than did their normal‐weight counterparts (83 ± 15 vs. 88 ± 10; p = 0.04). Obese children rated their Q o L lower than did their parents in all ( C ohen's d   =   −0.38 to −0.22) but the school domain. Overweight children's and normal‐weight children's self‐reported Q o L was not significantly different, nor were they different from parent‐reported Q o L . Conclusions Community‐based obese children reported a lower Q o L than did normal‐weight children; however, their parents seemed unaware of their children's decreased Q o L . Caution is required when using only parent proxy reports to assess the Q o L of obese children. More effort is needed in Taiwan to improve parents' understanding of their obese children's Q o L .