Parental Perspectives on Child's Eating Habits and Weight Status

Background: Childhood obesity continues to rise, especially among African American children. Understanding parental attitudes to children's eating habits and weight status allows the development of relevant family-centered programs and materials. Objective: To evaluate parents' perspectives on their child's eating habits and weight status. Design, Methods: Ninety-two parents completed a self-administered paper survey. Recruitment took place at an inner city summer camp. Results: Ninety-two percent of respondents were African Americans and mothers primarily complete the survey (78%). Mean age of child was 8.5 years. Children's diets were described as: excellent (23%), very good (33%), good (30%), fair (7%), and poor (7%). Forty-nine percent of the children were described as “picky” eaters. Parents believed the child's diet could be improved by eating more vegetables (44%), drinking more water (41%), eating healthier snacks (34%) and eating more fruits (34%). They also believed the diet could be improved by eating less junk foods (52%) and sugar (42%). Fifty percent of parents expressed concern about their child's weight and 38% reported that the child was also concerned with his or her weight. Thirty-four percent reported that a health care provider said the child needed to lose weight. Parents reported a low level of physical activity among children with only 33% of children getting one hour a day five to seven days a week. Parents believed childhood obesity was due to family history (85%), lack of self-control (83%), parents not caring (83%), eating too much (77%), playing too much video games (73%), and watching too much TV (62%). Parents requested the following information to help their child achieve or maintain a healthy weight: healthy recipes (47%), getting child to like healthy foods (47%), how to get child more active (38%), portion control (29%), and increasing self-esteem (18%). Conclusions and Implications: Opportunities exist for health professionals to help African American parents improve their children's eating habits, physical activity, and weight status.