title: Parental Predictions and Perceptions Regarding Long-Term Childhood Obesity-Related Health Risks.
abstract: To assess how parents perceive long-term risks for developing obesity-related chronic health conditions.
  
  
  
  A Web-based nationally representative survey was administered to 502 US parents with a 5- to 12-year-old child. Parents reported whether their child was most likely to be at a healthy weight or overweight, and the probability that their child would develop hypertension, heart disease, depression, or type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Responses of parents of children with overweight and obesity were compared to those of healthy-weight children using multivariate models.
  
  
  
  The survey had an overall response rate of 39.2%. The mean (SD) unadjusted parent predicted health risks were 15.4% (17.7%), 11.2% (14.7%), 12.5% (16.2%), and 12.1% (16.1%) for hypertension, heart disease, depression, and diabetes, respectively. Despite underperceiving their child's current body mass index class, parents of children with obesity estimate their children to be at greater risk for obesity-related health conditions than parents of healthy-weight children by 5 to 6 percentage points. Having a family history of a chronic disease, higher quality of care, and older parent age were also significant predictors of estimating higher risk probabilities.
  
  
  
  Despite evidence that parents of children who are overweight may not perceive these children as being overweight, parents unexpectedly estimate greater future risk of weight-related health conditions for these children. Focusing communication about weight on screening for and reducing the risk of weight-related diseases may prove useful in engaging parents and children in weight management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash; Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Wash. Electronic address: davene.wright@seattlechildrens.org.
authors.forename: Davene R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Group Health Research Institute, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash; Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dawson-Hahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Wash; Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Dimitri A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Christakis
authors.affiliation: Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Wren L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Haaland
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, University of Washington School of Pharmacy, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Anirban
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010465:Perception; D012306:Risk; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: cardiovascular disease; childhood obesity; diabetes; mental health; risk assessment; risk communication; risk perception