The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Telling parents their child’s weight status: psychological impact of a weight screening programme

Telling parents their child’s weight status: psychological impact of a weight screening programme
Telling parents their child’s weight status: psychological impact of a weight screening programme
METHODS. Children from years 3 and 6 (6–7 and 10–11 years old) in London schools were measured in school, and parents were sent information on the child's weight status. Children and parents completed questionnaires 6 weeks before and 4 weeks after the feedback; 358 children and 287 parents completed both questionnaires. The main outcome measures (parental feeding practices, parental perception of child weight, child body esteem, child eating behavior, and weight-related teasing) were assessed before and after feedback. Qualitative data on health-behavior change and parents’ and children's views of the measurement and feedback process were collected at follow-up.

RESULTS. Fifty-one percent of the parents (n = 398) volunteered for child measurements and weight feedback. Feedback was not associated with changes in child feeding among parents of healthy-weight children, but dietary restriction increased in parents of overweight girls. Among healthy-weight children, restrained eating decreased and body esteem increased, but there were no significant changes among the overweight group and no changes in reports of teasing. Perceptions of child overweight did not increase significantly, but 50% of the parents of overweight children reported positive changes in health behaviors. The majority (65%) of parents wanted weight feedback on a regular basis, and most children enjoyed the measuring process.

CONCLUSIONS. Weight feedback was acceptable to the majority of parents participating in an “opt-in” measurement and feedback program; adverse effects were minimal for children and parents, even when feedback indicated overweight. However, a minority of participants found it distressing, which highlights the importance of managing the process sensitively, particularly for families with overweight children.
0031-4005
e682-e688
Grimmett, Chloe
7f27e85b-2850-481d-a7dd-2835e1a925cd
Croker, Helen
8bcca9b8-d062-409b-9dea-2447c300d9fa
Carnell, Susan
f7bcadbb-c95b-43fd-9362-75ea599b78f6
Wardle, Jane
6b994195-e431-4d09-adcb-fd37cb2102a1
Grimmett, Chloe
7f27e85b-2850-481d-a7dd-2835e1a925cd
Croker, Helen
8bcca9b8-d062-409b-9dea-2447c300d9fa
Carnell, Susan
f7bcadbb-c95b-43fd-9362-75ea599b78f6
Wardle, Jane
6b994195-e431-4d09-adcb-fd37cb2102a1

Grimmett, Chloe, Croker, Helen, Carnell, Susan and Wardle, Jane (2008) Telling parents their child’s weight status: psychological impact of a weight screening programme. Pediatrics, 122 (3), e682-e688. (doi:10.1542/peds.2007-3526). (PMID:18762503)

Record type: Article

Abstract

METHODS. Children from years 3 and 6 (6–7 and 10–11 years old) in London schools were measured in school, and parents were sent information on the child's weight status. Children and parents completed questionnaires 6 weeks before and 4 weeks after the feedback; 358 children and 287 parents completed both questionnaires. The main outcome measures (parental feeding practices, parental perception of child weight, child body esteem, child eating behavior, and weight-related teasing) were assessed before and after feedback. Qualitative data on health-behavior change and parents’ and children's views of the measurement and feedback process were collected at follow-up.

RESULTS. Fifty-one percent of the parents (n = 398) volunteered for child measurements and weight feedback. Feedback was not associated with changes in child feeding among parents of healthy-weight children, but dietary restriction increased in parents of overweight girls. Among healthy-weight children, restrained eating decreased and body esteem increased, but there were no significant changes among the overweight group and no changes in reports of teasing. Perceptions of child overweight did not increase significantly, but 50% of the parents of overweight children reported positive changes in health behaviors. The majority (65%) of parents wanted weight feedback on a regular basis, and most children enjoyed the measuring process.

CONCLUSIONS. Weight feedback was acceptable to the majority of parents participating in an “opt-in” measurement and feedback program; adverse effects were minimal for children and parents, even when feedback indicated overweight. However, a minority of participants found it distressing, which highlights the importance of managing the process sensitively, particularly for families with overweight children.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 1 September 2008
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 336765
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/336765
ISSN: 0031-4005
PURE UUID: 5bcdcb38-b035-45c7-b7be-bf191ded8536
ORCID for Chloe Grimmett: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7540-7206

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 04 Apr 2012 10:57
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:43

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Chloe Grimmett ORCID iD
Author: Helen Croker
Author: Susan Carnell
Author: Jane Wardle

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×