Parents 'unaware their children are obese' and need to exercise outdoors
29/01/2010 Few parents with overweight children realise that they are obese, according to a new study.
In recent years the decreasing amount of time spent outdoors by children means that globally fitness rates have been dropping by four per cent on average. This in turn has led to increasing levels of childhood obesity, according to researchers at the University of Essex.
However, results from a new study by researchers in the Netherlands, half of mothers and 39 per cent of fathers with an obese four or five year old believe them to be a normal weight. These figures were even higher for overweight children as 75 per cent of mothers and 77 per cent of fathers believe their child to be average.
Professor Sauer, from the University Medical Centre Groningen, said that it is vital parents realise when their children are overweight and need to take part in more outdoor exercise.
"Public perception of what is a normal weight has shifted upwards because more people are overweight or obese... Overweight children are very likely to become overweight teenagers and adults," he explained.
The study, which was carried out on more than 800 parents, was published in the February issue of Acta Paediatrica.
In recent years the decreasing amount of time spent outdoors by children means that globally fitness rates have been dropping by four per cent on average. This in turn has led to increasing levels of childhood obesity, according to researchers at the University of Essex.
However, results from a new study by researchers in the Netherlands, half of mothers and 39 per cent of fathers with an obese four or five year old believe them to be a normal weight. These figures were even higher for overweight children as 75 per cent of mothers and 77 per cent of fathers believe their child to be average.
Professor Sauer, from the University Medical Centre Groningen, said that it is vital parents realise when their children are overweight and need to take part in more outdoor exercise.
"Public perception of what is a normal weight has shifted upwards because more people are overweight or obese... Overweight children are very likely to become overweight teenagers and adults," he explained.
The study, which was carried out on more than 800 parents, was published in the February issue of Acta Paediatrica.
