[Impact on the development of parental awareness of excess weight in children].

Unlabelled: A lot of publications emphasize the special role of parents' eating habits and their lifestyle on the prevalence of excess body weight in children.

Aim: The aim of this study was to answer the question whether parents of children who are overweight and obese are aware of this problem and what factors affect their perception of the excess body weight degree in their offspring.

Materials And Methods: The study included 137 children aged 6,5- 13,5 years. 23 respondents were overweight and 76 obese. Compared group consisted of 113 children. All patients underwent physical examination with anthropometric measurements. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire, where they evaluated the degree of excess body weight of their child. We also asked about both parents' weight and body height, their education and chronic diseases occurring in the family.

Results: In the group of obese children 56.2% of the respondents came from families where one parent had excess body weight while 32.9% of them from families where this problem affected both parents. In 51.3% of patients with a body mass index (BMI) above 95 centil, parents wrongly assessed the degree of excess body weight of their child, in overweight group this proportion accounted for 8.7%. There was a statistically significant (p = 0.007) correlation between the degree of children's excess body weight and the ability of parents to estimate that. Parents' education had no influence on the incidence of excess body weight in children and their ability to determine its extent. In the group of obese and overweight children only 4% of parents recognized obesity as a chronic disease.

Conclusions: Parents of children who are overweight and obese have lower awareness about their child's weight in comparison to parents of children with normal weight. There is a statistical correlation between parents' perception of excess body weight and the development of obesity in children.