A lot of parents are not open to making lifestyle changes to help their overweight children shed pounds. Most of them don't view their child's weight as a health problem. Researchers from the Boston Medical Center found that many healthcare providers assume that parents are eager to make changes to help their children lose weight. They conducted a study involving 151 parents of children who were overweight or on the verge of being overweight. Forty four percent of parents said they were not planning on instituting lifestyle changes in the coming time. Thirty-eight percent of parents said they would make such changes soon or were already doing so; this was the group deemed 'ready to change.' The study, found that parents of older children aged between 8 to 12 years were three times more likely to make lifestyle changes than those of younger children The same was true of parents who believed their child's weight was a health issue; they were nearly 10 times more likely to say they were ready to take actions such as increasing their child's fruit and vegetable intake, limiting TV time and encouraging exercise, than other parents. Parents were also more open to change if they viewed themselves as overweight. The study included children between the ages of 2 and 12, and all were either overweight or at risk of becoming so. It's not certain whether it's better for parents to make lifestyle changes for their overweight children at an early age. But children do develop eating habits early in life and it is difficult to change them, as they get older. One of the things that make it hard for parents to make lifestyle adjustments is that they themselves may have to overhaul their diets. But if parents recognize the immediate health problems associated with childhood obesity that could motivate them to change. The long-term risks of obesity including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease seem like distant, adult diseases. But there can be more-immediate problems as well, such as poor capacity for exercise, which makes weight loss difficult, exacerbation of asthma and orthopaedic injuries. If parents are aware of these potential problems, lifestyle changes may take on more importance to them.
Pediatrics,
July 2005
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