Parental beliefs about childhood obesity
Abstract (summary)
Introduction. Childhood obesity has quadrupled during the past 25 years. Parents play a crucial role in the perpetuation of the obesity epidemic as they control availability and accessibility of foods, meal structure, food socialization practices and physical activity levels. As such, there is increasing interest in understanding how parents' beliefs about how children become overweight and obese might be placing their children at a higher risk for unhealthy weight outcomes. Although it is evident that family influences on children's weight and activity levels are extensive and quite varied, few studies have sought to take a broad focus and examine many of these potential influences simultaneously. The aims for the present study were therefore to: (1) develop a reliable questionnaire to measure parental beliefs about childhood obesity and (2) compare a clinic group and a control group to determine whether parents of children who are at-risk for becoming overweight posses more faulty beliefs and misperceptions about what factors contribute to childhood obesity. Methods. the 'Parents' Beliefs about Childhood Obesity' questionnaire was developed and initial reliability of the measure was tested. Parents of average weight children (control sample) and parents of overweight children (clinic sample) completed the questionnaire and their responses were compared. Results. Results revealed strong reliability within 8 of the original 9 sub scales in the questionnaire. Group differences between the clinic 'providing concern/feedback to children about their weight'. Implications suggest a possible link between faulty beliefs and a higher occurrence of overweight in the clinic sample. Conclusions. Development of a reliable questionnaire that will identify parents' faulty belief patterns related to child health and weight outcomes is necessary in order to prevent the childhood obesity epidemic from perpetuating.
Indexing (details)
Clinical psychology
0622: Clinical psychology