Accuracy of perceptions of overweight and relation to self-care behaviors among adolescents with type 2 diabetes and their parents.
OBJECTIVE
To examine how adolescents with type 2 diabetes and their parents/primary caregivers perceive the adolescents' weight and the relationship of those perceptions to diet and exercise behaviors and perceived barriers to healthy behaviors.


METHODS
Interviews were conducted with adolescents and their parents about perceptions of the adolescents' weight, diet, and exercise behaviors, as well as barriers to engaging in healthy diet and exercise behaviors. Interviews were linked with clinic records to provide BMI.


RESULTS
A total of 104 parent-adolescent dyads participated. Parents and adolescents typically perceived the adolescents' weight as less severe than it actually was. For parents and adolescents, underestimating the adolescents ' weight was associated with poorer diet behaviors and more perceived barriers to following healthy diet or exercise behaviors.


CONCLUSIONS
Addressing misperceptions of weight by adolescents and their parents may be an important first step to improving weight in these patients.
Skinner
Asheley Cockrell
AC
Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7411, USA. asheley@unc.edu
Weinberger
Morris
M
Mulvaney
Shelagh
S
Schlundt
David
D
Rothman
Russell L
RL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003927:Diet, Diabetic; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012648:Self Care; D012649:Self Concept; D013689:Telephone