Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Childhood Obesity Problem: Even Worse Than We Realize?

Experts believe the rate of childhood obesity in the United States may be even worse than government statistics indicate, because one in five parents underestimates their children's weights, according to new research presented at the annual meeting of American College of Sports Medicine.

  • Professors Daniel O'Connor and Joseph Gugenheim studied the heights and weights of 1,430 children, and then compared them with the values their parents reported.
  • Their findings indicate that 21 percent of the parents did not correctly identify their children as obese.

"Parents tend to overestimate boys' height and underestimate girls' height," said Dr. O'Connor. "This error was larger when the reporting parents was the opposite sex of the child. Almost half of the parents underestimated their child's weight, and errors in reporting weight tended to be larger for girls and increase with age."
 

Labels: statistics

Posted By: Jane St. Clair

Comments:

Chelsea on 10/22/2010
For a lot of parents, facing their own junk food habits is hard. They end up not facing their kids' habits because of it. It's a shame. Families can learn together that eating healthier isn't a punishment.
Precinct Studios on 9/29/2010
Shocking new childhood obesity commercial cracks down on parents. ?? Released yesterday by The Precinct Studios, Break the Habit is a new commercial that aims to draw attention to the epidemic of childhood obesity in Australia. The commercial - intentionally controversial in subject matter - directly targets parents who continue to feed their children junk food regardless of the damaging effects it is known to cause them. By comparing junk food to drug abuse, the commercial aims to make parents stop and think about their actions and remind them that junk food is a major contributor of childhood obesity, which is linked to a variety of chronic illnesses.? ? Henry Motteram, Managing Director of The Precinct Studios says, Parents need to be aware that if their children become obese, it is more than likely because of them. For whatever reason, many parents ignore the early signs that surround the onset of obesity and fail in their duty of care to address the problem. It is hoped that this commercial will highlight this and get people talking about the topic. Break the Habit launched yesterday via social networking sites in a successful bid to start a discussion around not only childhood obesity but parents responsibility in the matter. ? The commercial can be viewed at:? ? Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=468614672937 YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P-4bzj9sdI Vimeo http://vimeo.com/15018032
Kensington on 9/24/2010
My guess is some parents also don't understand the reality of what is overweight and what is obese. Many parents are overweight or obese themselves, and it can be hard to face that in yourself, much less your child, too.

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