title: Do African American mothers accurately estimate their daughters' weight category?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We attempted to determine if mothers of overweight daughters accurately perceived the daughters' weight category and whether physician diagnosis of overweight was associated with accurate maternal perception of a daughter's weight.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study that used the Morehouse School of Medicine Obesity Health Belief Survey. Descriptive statistics were used with categorical variables; chi2 was used to identify associations between dichotomous and categorical data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were enrolled in the study at the West End Medical Centers Inc., a federally qualified health center in Atlanta, Georgia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among overweight girls, 19% of mothers underestimated the girls' weight category, and 60% of the mothers underestimated the magnitude of their daughters' weight category (P < .001). Among the mothers of girls at risk for overweight, there was a statistically significant association between being told their daughter was overweight by a physician and an accurate perception of the daughter's weight category by the mother
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite this national epidemic, not all of mothers of overweight girls identify them as overweight. Physicians may play an important role in helping mothers recognize overweight in their daughter. Ultimately, accurately perceiving their daughters' weight category may influence maternal readiness to change to reduce overweight and reduce the health burden of overweight.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30310, USA. smoore@msm.edu
authors.forename: Sandra E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Charlie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wimberly
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001835:Body Weight; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D050177:Overweight