Ridley Bethany J, McCarty Kristofor, Kramer Robin S S, Tovée Martin J, Cornelissen Piers L
Department of Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
School of Psychology, University of Lincoln, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK.
Children (Basel). 2025 Jun 25;12(7):836. doi: 10.3390/children12070836.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study addresses two questions: what body sizes/shapes do participants believe correspond to the boundaries of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) weight categories for children aged 4-5 and 10-11 years old, and are these judgements altered by using terminology encouraging positive action by parents?
The study used photorealistic computer-generated stimuli based on 388 3D scans of children in a method of adjustment task. We first asked participants to estimate the boundaries between weight status categories as described by the NCMP. To test validity, we asked a second set of participants to estimate the body that represented exemplars of each weight category (the exemplars should fall between the boundary estimates). We then recruited a third set of participants to determine whether substituting positive action terminology for the weight status definitions altered the boundary positions.
First, validity was confirmed. Second, we found a compressed response range (lower weights overestimated and higher weights underestimated) for the positioning of both categorical boundaries and exemplars. Finally, the use of alternative weight status terminology resulted in an upward shift in the position of all boundaries in the BMI spectrum but failed to remove the compressive stimulus response effect.
There is a disconnect between the child size that people perceive to correspond to the different weight categories and the size criteria used by health professionals, and it is likely that this gap can only be bridged by training to recognise the medically based categories.
背景/目的：本研究探讨两个问题：参与者认为4至5岁和10至11岁儿童的哪些体型/身材对应于国家儿童测量计划（NCMP）体重类别的界限，以及使用鼓励家长采取积极行动的术语是否会改变这些判断？
本研究在调整任务中使用了基于388名儿童3D扫描的逼真计算机生成刺激。我们首先要求参与者估计NCMP所描述的体重状况类别之间的界限。为了测试有效性，我们要求另一组参与者估计代表每个体重类别的范例的体型（范例应落在界限估计值之间）。然后，我们招募了第三组参与者，以确定用积极行动术语替代体重状况定义是否会改变界限位置。
首先，确认了有效性。其次，我们发现分类界限和范例的定位都存在压缩的反应范围（低估了较低体重，高估了较高体重）。最后，使用替代体重状况术语导致BMI谱中所有界限的位置向上移动，但未能消除压缩刺激反应效应。
人们认为与不同体重类别相对应的儿童体型与健康专业人员使用的体型标准之间存在脱节，很可能只有通过培训以识别基于医学的类别才能弥合这一差距。
