title: Parental Perception of Weight Status: Influence on Children's Diet in the Gateshead Millennium Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Recognising overweight and obesity is critical to prompting action, and consequently preventing and treating obesity. The present study examined the association between parental perceptions of child weight status and child's diet.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were members of the Gateshead Millennium Study. Parental perception of their child's weight status was assessed using a questionnaire and compared against International Obesity Task Force cut-offs for childhood overweight and obesity when the children were aged 6-8 years old. Diet was assessed at age 6-8years old using the FAST (Food Assessment in Schools Tool) food diary method. The association between parental perception and dietary patterns as defined by Principal Components Analysis, was assessed using multivariate regression after adjustment for child's gender, child's weight status, maternal body mass index (BMI), maternal education and deprivation status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 361 parents who provided complete data on confounders and on their perception of their child's weight status, 63 (17%) parents perceived their child as being of 'normal' weight or 'overweight' when they were actually 'overweight' or 'obese', respectively. After adjustment for confounders, parents who misperceived their child's weight had children with a lower 'healthy' dietary pattern score compared to children whose parents correctly perceived their weight (β = -0.88; 95% CI: -1.7, -0.1; P-value = 0.028). This association was found despite higher consumption of reduced sugar carbonated drinks amongst children whose parents incorrectly perceived their weight status compared to children whose parents perceived their weight correctly (52.4% vs. 33.6%; P-value = 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, children whose parents did not correctly perceive their weight status scored lower on the 'healthy' dietary pattern. Further research is required to define parents' diets based on their perception status and to examine if a child's or parent's diet mediates the association between parental perception and child weight.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health & Society and Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Suzana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almoosawi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health & Society and Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Angela R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health & Society and Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kathryn N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Parkinson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Society and Sir James Spence Institute of Child Health, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health & Society and Human Nutrition Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ashley J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Adamson
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010469:Perceptual Distortion; D012858:Size Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom