Almost half of Australian parents with overweight children mistakenly believe their children are in the average weight range, according to University of Melbourne researchers. Almost as many parents of underweight children think the same. Parents are unlikely to take necessary preventive measures if they think their child is a normal weight.
The study also finds that different methods of assessing children’s weight – such as BMI or waist circumference – result in different rates of children being identified as overweight or underweight.
Read more: Press release, University of Melbourne, 20 Oct 2008