TY - JOUR
T1 - Singaporean mothers' perception of their three-year-old child's weight status
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) study group221
AU - Cheng, Tuck Seng
AU - Loy, See Ling
AU - Cheung, Yin Bun
AU - Chan, Jerry Kok Yen
AU - Tint, Mya Thway
AU - Godfrey, Keith M.
AU - Gluckman, Peter D.
AU - Kwek, Kenneth
AU - Saw, Seang Mei
AU - Chong, Yap Seng
AU - Lee, Yung Seng
AU - Yap, Fabian
AU - Lek, Ngee
AU - Sheppard, Allan
AU - Chinnadurai, Amutha
AU - Goh, Anne Eng Neo
AU - Rifkin-Graboi, Anne
AU - Qiu, Anqi
AU - Biswas, Arijit
AU - Lee, Bee Wah
AU - Broekman, Birit F.P.
AU - Quah, Boon Long
AU - Shuter, Borys
AU - Chng, Chai Kiat
AU - Ngo, Cheryl
AU - Hsu, Stephen Chin Ying
AU - Bong, Choon Looi
AU - Henry, Christiani Jeyakumar
AU - Chee, Cornelia Yin Ing
AU - Fok, Doris
AU - Yeo, George Seow Heong
AU - Inskip, Hazel
AU - Chen, Helen
AU - Van Bever, Hugo P.S.
AU - Magiati, Iliana
AU - Wong, Inez Bik Yun
AU - Lau, Ivy Yee Man
AU - Kapur, Jeevesh
AU - Richmond, Jenny L.
AU - Holbrook, Joanna D.
AU - Gooley, Joshua J.
AU - Tan, Kok Hian
AU - Niduvaje, Krishnamoorthy
AU - Singh, Leher
AU - Su, Lin Lin
AU - Daniel, Lourdes Mary
AU - Shek, Lynette Pei Chi
AU - Fortier, Marielle V.
AU - Hanson, Mark
AU - Chong, Mary Foong Fong
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - Objective Inaccurate parental perception of their child's weight status is commonly reported in Western countries. It is unclear whether similar misperception exists in Asian populations. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of Singaporean mothers to accurately describe their three-year-old child's weight status verbally and visually. Methods At three years post-delivery, weight and height of the children were measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and converted into actual weight status using International Obesity Task Force criteria. The mothers were blinded to their child's measurements and asked to verbally and visually describe what they perceived was their child's actual weight status. Agreement between actual and described weight status was assessed using Cohen's Kappa statistic (κ). Results Of 1237 recruited participants, 66.4% (n = 821) with complete data on mothers' verbal and visual perceptions and children's anthropometric measurements were analysed. Nearly thirty percent of the mothers were unable to describe their child's weight status accurately. In verbal description, 17.9% under-estimated and 11.8% over-estimated their child's weight status. In visual description, 10.4% under-estimated and 19.6% over-estimated their child's weight status. Many mothers of underweight children over-estimated (verbal 51.6%; visual 88.8%), and many mothers of overweight and obese children under-estimated (verbal 82.6%; visual 73.9%), their child's weight status. In contrast, significantly fewer mothers of normal-weight children were inaccurate (verbal 16.8%; visual 8.8%). Birth order (p<0.001), maternal (p = 0.004) and child's weight status (p<0.001) were associated with consistently inaccurate verbal and visual descriptions. Conclusions Singaporean mothers, especially those of underweight and overweight children, may not be able to perceive their young child's weight status accurately. To facilitate prevention of childhood obesity, educating parents and caregivers about their child's weight status is needed.
AB - Objective Inaccurate parental perception of their child's weight status is commonly reported in Western countries. It is unclear whether similar misperception exists in Asian populations. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of Singaporean mothers to accurately describe their three-year-old child's weight status verbally and visually. Methods At three years post-delivery, weight and height of the children were measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and converted into actual weight status using International Obesity Task Force criteria. The mothers were blinded to their child's measurements and asked to verbally and visually describe what they perceived was their child's actual weight status. Agreement between actual and described weight status was assessed using Cohen's Kappa statistic (κ). Results Of 1237 recruited participants, 66.4% (n = 821) with complete data on mothers' verbal and visual perceptions and children's anthropometric measurements were analysed. Nearly thirty percent of the mothers were unable to describe their child's weight status accurately. In verbal description, 17.9% under-estimated and 11.8% over-estimated their child's weight status. In visual description, 10.4% under-estimated and 19.6% over-estimated their child's weight status. Many mothers of underweight children over-estimated (verbal 51.6%; visual 88.8%), and many mothers of overweight and obese children under-estimated (verbal 82.6%; visual 73.9%), their child's weight status. In contrast, significantly fewer mothers of normal-weight children were inaccurate (verbal 16.8%; visual 8.8%). Birth order (p<0.001), maternal (p = 0.004) and child's weight status (p<0.001) were associated with consistently inaccurate verbal and visual descriptions. Conclusions Singaporean mothers, especially those of underweight and overweight children, may not be able to perceive their young child's weight status accurately. To facilitate prevention of childhood obesity, educating parents and caregivers about their child's weight status is needed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959188961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147563
DO - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0147563
M3 - Article
C2 - 26820665
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 11
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 1
M1 - e0147563
ER -