title: My Weight Ruler: a simple and effective tool to enhance parental understanding of child weight status.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare caregiver identification and understanding of body mass index percentile (BMI%) using the CDC Growth Chart and a newly adapted BMI ruler ("My Weight Ruler").
  
  
  METHODS
  Between October 2009 and March 2010, eight focus groups with 27 low-income, minority caregivers with children 2-4 years of age were conducted to choose a meaningful tool to explain child weight status. A within-subject experiment comparing identification and interpretation of 2 BMI% plots (50th and 97th%) using the CDC Growth Chart and the selected tool was performed in February 2012 with 251 primary caregivers of children 2-4 years in a primary care clinic.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregivers chose the "BMI Ruler" a tool used in Arkansas, recommended culturally-responsive descriptors of weight status and renamed it "My Weight Ruler". 92% of caregivers reported having previously been explained the CDC Growth Chart; 37% correctly identified both plots. In contrast, 92% of caregivers correctly identified both plots on the My Weight Ruler and many interpreted the 97th% plot as a health risk and need to change behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  My Weight Ruler is a simple, easily understood tool of weight status for low-income, minority primary caregivers and could enhance parental knowledge and understanding of child weight status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut Health Care Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030, USA; Children's Center for Community Research, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106, USA. Electronic address: mclouti@ccmckids.org.
authors.forename: Michelle M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Cloutier
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lucuara-Revelo
authors.forename: Dorothy B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Wakefield
authors.forename: Amy A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gorin
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000379:methods*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension; D003237:Connecticut; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D057238:Growth Charts; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D056865:Ideal Body Weight; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control; D011203:Poverty
keywords: Childhood obesity; Focus groups; Health education; Minorities; Weight status