Mums can’t tell if child is obese

A FIFTH of Irish mothers are unable to identify their preschool children as overweight or obese, according to a new study

And girls had increased odds of being inaccurately identified by mothers as being of normal weight compared to boys.

The research also discovered that mothers were more likely to underestimate their offspring’s weight if the child had a high birth weight or if the mother is obese or is working.

The study, carried out by NUI Galway, found other factors affecting the odds of misperceiving their child’s weight included income, urban living and at what stage of the pregnancy the child was born.

And researchers called on health professionals, along with public health campaigns, to help mothers’ correctly identify their child’s weight status. The lead researcher, Dr Michelle Queally, said a mother’s recognition of their child being overweight and obese during early childhood is one of the key determinants in achieving a healthy weight status in children.

‘These findings suggest that mothers of overweight or obese three- and five-year-olds show poor awareness of their child’s weight status,’ said the authors.

‘This study highlights the need for increased support to help improve mothers’ understanding of healthy body size in pre-schoolaged children.’

The research, which is published in the International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, discovered that 22% of Irish mothers failed to accurately identify their child to be overweight or obese at age three. This figure decreased to 18% when the child was aged five.

The authors used data from the Growing Up in Ireland study – the national face-toface survey of almost 10,000 families of children aged three years and over 9,000 families of children aged five years.

Higher maternal BMI was associated with increased likelihood of mothers failing to identify their child as either overweight or obese.

Families who had private health insurance and households with higher incomes had lower odds of misclassifying their child’s weight status when the child is three.

‘Mothers unable to accurately identify children at risk are unlikely to act to prevent further excess weight gain,’ said the authors.

This is problematic, the research stated, given that 25% of three-year-olds and 20% of five-year-old children are overweight or obese in Ireland.

‘This study suggests that health professionals and public health campaigns may need to play a greater role in terms of helping mothers’ correctly identify their child’s weight status.’