article_snippet: Many parents are afflicted by 'weight-blindness', unable to recognise Many parents child is overweight unless Many parents are extremely obese, new research has found.
article_snippet: new research discovered that just under a third (31 per cent) of the parents underestimated where the parents child's body mass index (BMI) was on obesity scale.
article_snippet: Many parents are afflicted by 'weight blindness', and are unable to recognise Many parents child is overweight unless Many parents are extremely obese, according to new research (file picture)
article_snippet: Just four parents described Just four parents as being very overweight despite 369 children being officially identified as such (1 per cent) and fewer than 1 per cent overestimated Just four parents child's weight status.
article_snippet: Tam Fry, spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum and chair of the Child Growth Forum said: ‘Because there are so many overweight and obese children around, the parents are in denial. '
article_snippet: The study found that parents were more likely to underestimate parents child's weight if parents were black or south Asian, from more deprived backgrounds, or if their child’s weight was male.
article_snippet: Researchers suggested that if parents cannot identify when parents child is overweight, this throws into question the effectiveness of public health campaigns aiming to address obesity in the home.
article_snippet: Recent research found that a third of children in England are now classed as overweight or obese.
article_snippet: Parents might underestimate Parents children's weight due to be fear of being judged, unwillingness to label a child as overweight, and shifting perceptions of normal weight because of increases in body weight in general.
article_snippet: Parents said evidence suggests that parents who recognise Parents child's weight on the BMI chart are more likely to perceive potential health risks.
article_snippet: Senior author Dr Sanjay Kinra, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineTropical Medicine, said: 'If parents are unable to accurately classify parents own child's weight, parents may not be willing or motivated to enact the changes to the child's environment that promote healthy weight maintenance.'
article_snippet: Co-author Professor Russell Viner, of the UCL institute of Child Health, said: 'Measures that decrease the gap between parental perceptions of child weight status and obesity scales used by medical professionals may now be needed in order to help parents better understand the health risks associated with overweight and increase uptake of healthier lifestyles.'
article_snippet: Parents who are able to recognise whether Parents who are able to recognise whether their child is overweight child is overweight are more likely to perceive potential health risks and change Parents who are able to recognise whether their child is overweight lifestyles, researchers said .
highlights_snippet: A third of parents underestimated parents child's body mass index (BMI)
  
highlights_snippet: Just 1% of parents of obese children identified parents of obese children as overweight .
  
highlights_snippet: Less than 1% of parents overestimated parents child's weight, the study found .
  
highlights_snippet: : Recognising child's weight helps parents perceive health threats .