One in 3 children in England leave primary school overweight Thursday, 3 February 2011
Parents 'don't recognise obesity'
One in 3 children in England leave primary school overweight Childhood obesity is a growing problem, but parents are often surprised, even angry, when told that their child is too heavy.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, consultant paediatrician Professor Mary Rudolf, who advises the government on obesity, asks why it is so difficult to recognise when children are overweight.
Do you know whether your child is overweight?
Most of us are aware that obesity is a problem, and we may even know that the UK is in the middle of a child obesity epidemic.
But many parents are unable to tell when their own child is overweight.
A National Opinion Poll involving over 1,000 parents of children aged 4-7, showed that only 14% of those with an obese child considered that their child was overweight.
The problem is that we have all adjusted to overweight as being the norm. Understandably, parents compare their own child with the children around them.
Professor Mary Rudolf Obesity expert“Did you know that a healthy ten-year old's ribs should be clearly visible? Many parents would consider that such a child was quite underweight.”
When one in three children at primary school is overweight, it is not surprising that it is hard to identify when a child has a problem.
Did you know that a healthy 10-year-old's ribs should be clearly visible?
Many parents would consider that such a child was quite underweight.
Parents are not alone in having difficulty recognising when children have an unhealthy weight.
Studies in the US and the UK show that health professionals often underestimate children's weight too.
When shown pictures they invariably mis-categorise children as being a healthier weight than they are, unless the child is exceptionally obese.
In fact, health professionals do not even recognise when they themselves are overweight; a good half of those who were overweight reported that their weight was healthy!
In 2005, the National Child Measurement Programme was introduced in primary schools.
The programme was introduced to monitor the epidemic in childhood obesity, by weighing and measuring all children as they start primary school and again in their last year.
In many areas, parents receive a letter to let them know the outcome and how healthy their child's weight is.
Some feel surprise and even anger if they are told that their child is overweight.
They have difficulty marrying up the term 'overweight' with the healthy child in front of them.
The lack of recognition is very common.
Another reason for the lack of knowledge may be that the media often portrays and highlights extreme cases o
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