Abstract

Background: Helping parents to identify their children's weight status and recognize the health risk related to overweight and obesity could be the first step in promoting a healthy lifestyle and healthy body weight among their children. The present study was aimed to assess parents' perceptions of their children's weight status and compare this perception with the actual weight status of those children.
Methodology: The study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The parents were contacted by phone to answer a questionnaire, which included questions about their sociodemographic characteristics and dietary, physical, and disease-related complication of childhood obesity.
Results: The study included parents of 106 Saudi children aged 2-14 years old. A significantly higher percentage (73.3%) of overweight children was underestimated by their parents as had normal weight (p < 0.001). On the other hand, 50.0% of underweight children were overestimated by parents as normal weight. Misclassification was highest among parents of overweight children (73.3%) and underweight (50%) children. Furthermore, the absence of knowledge about obesity complications was significantly associated with lower levels of parent's education, low family income, and increased eating of fast foods.
Conclusion: A significant proportion of parents underestimated their child’s weight status. The proportion of misperception was higher among parents of overweight children. Furthermore, parents' awareness of the negative impact of childhood obesity on health needs to be improved. These results are valuable for developing educational programs and strategies involving parents for proper control of childhood obesity. It is essential to target these incorrect parental perceptions.

Key words: Childhood obesity, parents, perceptions, knowledge, Saudi Arabia