Approximately 14% of US preschoolers are overweight. Examining parental perceptions of child body weight is crucial because successful prevention and treatment of childhood obesity is linked to parental awareness of child body weight. Although studies have demonstrated that parents of toddlers and preschoolers have incorrect perceptions of their childs body weight, little is known about factors that may be associated with these perceptions. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between parental perceptions of toddler and preschool child body weight and psychosocial factors such as parental efficacy, health literacy, and level of concern for child weight. Research questions included: 1) what is the parents perception of the toddler or preschool childs body weight? and 2) what factors are associated with the accuracy of parental perceptions of the toddler or preschool childs body weight? Participants for this descriptive-correlational study were solicited at a pediatrician's office and a WIC clinic. Parental participants completed four surveys and answered two open-ended questions. Quantitative analyses included descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses. Answers to open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis.
Over one-third of the children in the sample were at risk for overweight or already overweight. However, less than six percent of parents felt their child had an elevated body weight. Furthermore, less than one-third of parents in the study were concerned that their child would become overweight or need to diet later in life. Results from logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the parents health literacy level was a statistically significant predictor of the accuracy of their perceptions regarding their childs body weight (p<.05). However, the parents concern regarding child weight and perceived level of efficacy did not significantly predict the accuracy of their perceptions. Content analyses revealed that parents are often uncertain how to define healthy or unhealthy body weights in children. Parents in the study often relied on subjective observations to determine the appropriateness of child body weight, but many were open to counseling and education from medical professionals, Internet resources, and other objective sources.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-07102008-110203 |
| Date | 18 July 2008 |
| Creators | Garrett, Dawn Marie |
| Contributors | Thomas H. Cook, Lynda LaMontagne, Mary Jo Gilmer, Mary Dietrich, David Schlundt |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-07102008-110203/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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