Here’s a very disturbing yet very true fact about parents: they don’t always see what needs to be seen and don’t always take action when it needs to be taken. A very good example of this is the situation described in the July issue of Newsweek magazine. The article is a call for attention, so there’s nothing vague about the headline: Parents Oblivious to Overweight Kids.
It’s a touchy subject, and it’s obvious not everyone will go and admit their child is overweight. What is worse, not everyone would go as far as admitting it AND trying to do something about it. This is not some silly “size 0″ propaganda. No, a skinny child is not always a healthy child, and it’s true that many scores of years ago being overweight was a sign of wealth, but unless we want to be living in the times were gout was as common as a sore throat, we should be taking action, and admitting you have a problem is already one step to healing, right?
Having been overweight throughout my childhood years and well into my teenage years as well, I can’t help but notice a pattern some parents take to when it comes to justifying their children’s eating habits. Neither my mother, nor my grandparents who helped her babysit, ever refused me anything. My father, the only one in the family who recognized the problem and actually made us visit a dietician, was pronounced the official enemy who was trying to “ruin the kid’s body image” and self-esteem. To my mother I wasn’t an obese child. To her I was slightly plump and a bit bigger than average, and her misconceptions went as far as her trying to get me admitted to a ballet school.
These memories were brought on to me by this passage:
Why are Americans getting fatter? As we reported (…), there are a host of factors, from the ubiquity of high-fat, mega-calorie foods to lack of exercise and too much TV. But another, more complicated, trigger appears to be at work as well: grave misperceptions about weight.
This is especially true of parents who mistakenly believe their kids are leaner than they are. A new poll included in the report 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 (their body mass index, or BMI, falls between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age and sex) or obese (at or above the 95th percentile). Americans understand there’s a problem; they just don’t think their kids are a part of it. The consequences are dire. “We’re in danger of raising the first generation of children who could live sicker and die younger than the generation before them,” says Dr. James Marks, RWJF’s senior vice president.
Skewed weight perception is a well-known phenomenon in the research world. In one study, only one third of parents of overweight kids recognized their child’s weight status accurately and few were worried that it might be a problem. In another, 60 percent of parents of overweight children inaccurately identified their child as healthy weight or even underweight.
So here’s something to think about. If you care about your children and want to make sure they live a happy and healthy life, start taking responsibility and recognizing the problem as early as you can. Better still, try avoiding the problem and feeding your kid a healthy diet by setting a good example. Try keeping up old traditions in your family and gather at the dinner table (no TV). Encourage sports and remember that fruit and veggies are crucial for a good healthy diet. Check your child’s BMI by using calculators available online, such as this one http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx . If your child keeps gaining weight, see a doctor. Obesity may stem from auto-immune diseases, hormonal causes and some other factors that only a medical professional can detect.
You can find the full text of the article at http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/01/parents-oblivious-to-overweight-kids.html.