Document Type : Original Article
Authors
College of Nursing, Idaho State University, Pocatello
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The identification of parental health knowledge related to obesity and overweight
status in children is an important area. Its importance relates to understanding gaps in knowledge that
can be used to create targeted intervention and prevention strategies to improve the management
of child’s weight.
AIM: There is a growing awareness of the potential health risks associated with increased childhood
weight. It is currently unclear how well the public understands these risks and if understanding is
linked to improvement in obesity or overweight levels in children. This review focused on determining
if the current research is available to describe parental knowledge and whether it is connected to
improved outcomes in the child’s weight status.
METHODS: The search for original research articles published between 2003 and 2018 involved
six databases, including CINAHL, EBSCOhost, PubMed, PsycINFO, Psychology, and Behavioral
Sciences Collection, and OneSearch. The OneSearch database is a comprehensive search engine
that allows simultaneous searching of the entire library category and results that are ranked by
relevance to the search terms. The terms used included for the keyword search in each database
included: “knowledge” or “awareness,” “health risk” or “consequence,” “obesity” or “overweight,”
and “weight” or “body mass index,” “child,” and “parent” or “parental.” A content analysis of included
articles was performed to synthesize available literature into a review.
RESULTS: This review included nine articles dealing specifically with parents of children and their
knowledge levels. As there was limited information about if child’s weight status connected to parental
knowledge, an additional seven articles addressing how knowledge affects weight at any age was
examined. The findings for parental knowledge and its effect have mixed results and varying methods
of measurement.
CONCLUSIONS: While some studies have indicated the importance of knowledge, it is difficult to
establish a reliable connection due to the limited examination of this subject. This is, therefore, an
underexplored area that needs further study.
Keywords
of parental misperception of child’s body weight in childhood
obesity. J Pediatr Nurs 2016;31:196‑203.
2. Bridger T. Childhood obesity and cardiovascular disease. Paediatr
Child Health 2009;14:177‑82.
3. Seidell JC, Halberstadt J. The global burden of obesity and the
challenges of prevention. Ann Nutr Metab 2015;66 Suppl 2:7‑12.
4. Mareno N. Parental perception of child weight: A concept analysis.
J Adv Nurs 2014;70:34‑45.
5. World Health Organization. Overweight and Obesity in the
Western Pacific Region. Geneva: World Health Organization;
2017.
6. Lobstein T, Jackson‑Leach R. Planning for the worst: Estimates of
obesity and comorbidities in school‑age children in 2025. Pediatr
Obes 2016;11:321‑5.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight and
Obesity; 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes.html. Retrieved June 2018.
8. Holden GW, Vittrup B, Rosen LH. Families, parenting, and
discipline. In: Underwood MK, Rosen LH, editors. Social
Development: Relationships in Infancy, Childhood, and
Adolescence. New York: Guilford Press; 2011. p. 127‑52.
9. Lundahl A, Kidwell KM, Nelson TD. Parental underestimates of
child weight: A meta‑analysis. Pediatrics 2014;133:e689‑703.
10. Leary J, Ice C, Neal W, Cottrell L. Parent and child weight status
predict weight‑related behavior change. J Commun Healthc
2013;6:115‑21.
11. Mech P, Hooley M, Skouteris H, Williams J. Parent‑related
mechanisms underlying the social gradient of childhood
overweight and obesity: A systematic review. Child Care Health
Dev 2016;42:603‑24.
12. Woods T, Nies M. Conceptual application of the adapted health
belief model to parental understanding of child weight. J Health
Sci Educ 2018;2:1‑6.
13. Mazloomy‑Mahmoodabad SS, Navabi ZS, Ahmadi A,
Askarishahi M. The effect of educational intervention on weight
loss in adolescents with overweight and obesity: Application of
the theory of planned behavior. ARYA Atheroscler 2017;13:176‑83.
14. Sylvetsky‑Meni A, Gilepsie S, Hardy T, Welsh J. The impact of
parents’ categorization of their own weight and their child’s
weight on healthy lifestyle promoting beliefs and practices.
J Obesity 2015:1‑7. http: dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/207381.
15. Hochdorn A, Faleiros VP, Camargo BV, Bousfield AB,
Wachelke JF, Quintão IP, et al. Obese children are thin in parents’
eyes: A psychologically, socially, or culturally driven bias? J
Health Psychol 2018;23:114‑26.
16. Visscher TL, Lakerveld J, Olsen N, Küpers L, Ramalho S, Keaver L,
et al. Perceived health status: Is obesity perceived as a risk factor
and disease? Obes Facts 2017;10:52-60.
17. BlackRE, VictoraCG, Walker SP, BhuttaZA, ChristianP, de OnisM,
et al. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in
low‑income and middle‑income countries. Lancet 2013;382:427‑51.
18. Dawson AM, Taylor RW, Williams SM, Taylor BJ, Brown DA.
Do parents recall and understand children’s weight status
information after BMI screening? A randomised controlled trial.
BMJ Open 2014;4:e004481.
19. Rune KT, Mulgrew K, Sharman R, Lovell GP. Effect of an obesity
pamphlet on parental perception and knowledge of excess weight
in their children: Results of a randomised controlled trial. Health
Promot J Austr 2015;26:129‑32.
20. Etelson D, Brand DA, Patrick PA, Shirali A. Childhood obesity:
Do parents recognize this health risk? Obes Res 2003;11:1362‑8.
21. Muhammad NA, Omar K, Shah SA, Muthupalaniappen LA,
Arshad F. Parental perception of their children’s weight status,
and its association with their nutrition and obesity knowledge.
Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2008;17:597‑602.
22. Nsiah‑Kumi PA, Ariza AJ, Mikhail LM, Feinglass J, Binns HJ,
Pediatric Practice Research Group. et al. Family history and
parents’ beliefs about consequences of childhood overweight
and their influence on children’s health behaviors. Acad Pediatr
2009;9:53‑9.
23. Tsai A, Boyle T, Hill J, Lindley C, Weiss K. Changes in obesity
awareness, obesity identification, and self‑assessment of health:
Results from a statewide public education campaign. Am J Health
Educ 2014;45:342‑50.
24. Wright D, Lozano P, Dawson‑Hahn E, Christakis D, Haaland W,
Basu A. Parental predictions and perceptions regarding long‑term
childhood obesity‑related health risks. Acad Pediatr 2016;16:475‑81.
25. Hatta K, Rahman A, Rahman I, Haque M. Knowledge, attitude,
and practices among mothers regarding childhood obesity at
Kuantan, Malaysia. Int Med J 2017;24:200‑4.
26. Vittrup B, McClure D. Barriers to childhood obesity prevention:
Parental knowledge and attitudes. Pediatr Nurs 2018;44:81‑94.
27. Alasmari HD, Al‑Shehri AD, Aljuaid TA, Alzaidi BA, Alswat KA.
Relationship between body mass index and obesity awareness in
school students. J Clin Med Res 2017;9:520‑4.
28. Winston GJ, Caesar‑Phillips E, Peterson JC, Wells MT, Martinez J,
Chen X, et al. Knowledge of the health consequences of obesity
among overweight/obese black and hispanic adults. Patient Educ
Couns 2014;94:123‑7.
29. Ward G, Amirabdollahian F. A study to investigate the knowledge
of Coventry University students regarding the health risks
associated with obesity. J Hum Nutr Dietetics 2011;24:307‑8.
30. Swift JA, Glazebrook C, Anness A, Goddard R. Obesity‑related
knowledge and beliefs in obese adults attending a specialist
weight‑management service: Implications for weight loss
over 1 year. Patient Educ Couns 2009;74:70‑6.
31. Mazloomy‑Mahmoodabad S, Navabi ZS, Ahmadi A,
Askarishahi M. Obesity: Application of the theory of planned
behavior. ARYA Atheroscler 2017;13:176‑83.
32. Nanda S, Mohabbat AB, Nagaraju D, Varayil JE, Ratrout B,
Abu‑Lebdeh HS, et al. Improving awareness of patients with
obesity and its healthcare implications. Qual Primary Care
2015;23:201‑4.
33. Gavaravarapu S, Rao M, Nagalla B, Avula L. Assessing differences
in risk perceptions about obesity among “normal‑weight” and
“overweight” adolescents – A qualitative study. J Nutr Educ
Behav 2015;47:488‑97.
34. Pesch MH, Meixner KA, Appugliese DP, Rosenblum KL,
Miller AL, Lumeng JC. The evolution of mothers’ beliefs about
overweight and obesity in their early school‑age children. Acad
Pediatr 2016;16:565‑70.
35. SwiftJA, Glazebrook C, Macdonald I. Validation of a brief, reliable
scale to measure knowledge about the health risks associated with
obesity. Int J Obesity 2006;30:661‑8.
36. Rutkowski EM, Connelly CD. Adolescent obesity risk
knowledge (AORK): Let the discussion begin. J Spec Pediatr Nurs
2016;21:37‑43.
)