Parents' skewed weight perception of their children contributing to rising obesity rates

Moral of the story: Every parents believes their kids are perfect. Get real.  1/3 are too fat.

Source: AMA Morning Rounds 7/2/2010

Parents' skewed weight perception of their children contributing to rising obesity rates.

Claudia Kalb wrote in Newsweek (7/1) that a report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "finds that the majority of Americans believe that childhood obesity is a 'significant and growing challenge for the country,' and yet 84 percent say their children are at a healthy weight -- despite national stats showing that nearly one third of children and teens are overweight...or obese." Although "Americans understand there's a problem," they "don't think their kids are a part of it" -- a "well-known phenomenon in the research world." But, research has also shown that "only seven percent of parents recalled ever being told that their child was gaining weight too fast or was overweight." Kalb concluded that "patients are listening. It's never too soon to start educating them."