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Hispanic parents’ perceptions of their preschool children's weight status
Author(s) -
Gauthier Kristine I.,
GanceCleveland Bonnie
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal for specialists in pediatric nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.499
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1744-6155
pISSN - 1539-0136
DOI - 10.1111/jspn.12143
Subject(s) - overweight , body mass index , childhood obesity , perception , obesity , medicine , psychology , head start , developmental psychology , body weight , pediatrics , demography , pathology , neuroscience , sociology
Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of Hispanic parents’ perceptions of their preschool children's weight status. Design and Methods A cross‐sectional descriptive design with Hispanic parent–child dyads ( n = 83) from a Head Start setting was used to compare parents’ perceptions of their children's weight status with their 2‐ to 5‐year‐old children's body mass index (BMI) and weight categories. Methods included a word choice from five response options, and varying body size silhouettes presented in a linear fashion and a random circular pattern. Parents’ perceptions were compared with the children's BMI, and in relationship to parents’ demographic characteristics and BMI. Results Approximately half of parents underestimated their child's weight status, and overweight/obese parents tended to underestimate their overweight/obese children's weight status. Practice Implications Eliciting parent perception of their child's weight is one way providers can engage in obesity prevention dialogue.