Yang Jingyun, Zhou Ludan, Chen Lingjiao, Wu Yixin, Wang Yun, Fan Hailing, Tung Tao-Hsin, Wang Lizhen, Zhang Meixian
Department of Pediatrics, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, China,
Department of Pediatrics, Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical University, Linhai, China.
Obes Facts. 2025;18(3):296-304. doi: 10.1159/000544074. Epub 2025 Feb 11.
Currently, overweight/obesity rates among children are increasing. Moreover, parents generally misunderstand their children's weight status. The correct perception of overweight/obesity in early childhood is very important for children's growth and development. The purpose of this study was to investigate parental perceptions of children's weight status.
We analyzed data from a questionnaire study conducted among 1,971 preschool children in local kindergartens from December 1, 2021, to January 31, 2022, and classified the participants as having non-overweight and overweight/obesity according to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria. Parents were asked whether they perceived their children to have non-overweight or overweight/obesity. We analyzed the related factors that parents underestimated or overestimated their children's weight status.
The rate of overweight/obesity in preschool children was 17.9%. Parental perceptions of children's weight status were inconsistent with children's real weight (kappa = 0.351, p < 0.001). The correctness of mother's perceptions of children's weight was higher than that of father's. Among children who were affected by overweight/obesity, 68.5% of parents underestimated their children's weights. Mothers with overweight/obesity had a 1.56 times greater risk of underestimating the children's weight than mothers who were affected by non-overweight (p = 0.010, odds ratio: 1.56, 95% confidence interval: 1.11-2.18). Children's sex and families with siblings were independent risk factors for parents to overestimate children's weight.
Parents were highly likely to misinterpret the weight status of their children who were affected by overweight/obesity. Mothers with overweight/obesity were more likely to underestimate their children's weight.
目前，儿童超重/肥胖率正在上升。此外，家长们普遍对自己孩子的体重状况存在误解。正确认识幼儿期的超重/肥胖对儿童的生长发育非常重要。本研究的目的是调查家长对孩子体重状况的认知。
我们分析了2021年12月1日至2022年1月31日在当地幼儿园对1971名学龄前儿童进行的问卷调查研究数据，并根据国际肥胖特别工作组（IOTF）标准将参与者分为非超重和超重/肥胖两类。询问家长他们认为自己的孩子是非超重还是超重/肥胖。我们分析了家长低估或高估孩子体重状况的相关因素。
学龄前儿童超重/肥胖率为17.9%。家长对孩子体重状况的认知与孩子的实际体重不一致（kappa = 0.351，p < 0.001）。母亲对孩子体重的认知正确性高于父亲。在超重/肥胖的儿童中，68.5%的家长低估了孩子的体重。超重/肥胖的母亲低估孩子体重的风险是非超重母亲的1.56倍（p = 0.010，比值比：1.56，95%置信区间：1.11 - 2.18）。孩子的性别和有兄弟姐妹的家庭是家长高估孩子体重的独立危险因素。
家长很可能误解超重/肥胖孩子的体重状况。超重/肥胖的母亲更有可能低估孩子的体重。
