Association between Parents’ Perceptions of Preschool Children’s Weight, Feeding Practices and Children’s Dietary Patterns: A Cross-Sectional Study in China

Parental perception of children’s weight may influence parents’ feeding practices, and in turn, child dietary intake and weight status; however, there is limited evidence generated for preschoolers. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate associations between Chinese parents’ perceptions of child weight, feeding practices and preschoolers’ dietary patterns. Participants (1616 parent-child pairs) were recruited from six kindergartens in Hunan, China. Parents’ misperception, concern, and dissatisfaction on child weight were collected through a self-administered caregiver questionnaire. Parental feeding practices and children’s dietary intake were, respectively, assessed using the Child Feeding Questionnaire and a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Linear regression models were applied to analyze associations between parental weight perceptions, feeding practices, and preschooler’s dietary patterns. Associations between parents’ weight perceptions and dietary patterns were significant only among underweight children. Regardless of child weight status, parental weight underestimation and preference for a heavier child were positively associated with pressure-to-eat. Parental weight concern was positively associated with restriction in normal weight child, but this was not found in other weight groups. In conclusion, Parents’ misperception, concern, and dissatisfaction about child weight are associated with parents’ feeding practices and may influence preschoolers’ dietary quality, but the relationships vary by children’s actual weight status.

Weight, Weight Perceptions, and Health and Well-Being Among Canadian Adolescents: Evidence From the 2017-2018 Canadian Community Health Survey

Purpose: The present study examines the extent to which (mis)matched weight and weight perceptions predict adolescents’ self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction. Design: Quantitative, cross-sectional study. Setting: Data from the 2017-2018 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS)—a nationally representative sample collected by Statistics Canada. Participants: Canadian adolescents aged between 12 and 17 (n = 8,081). Measures: The dependent variables are self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction. The independent variable is (mis)matched weight and weight perceptions. Analysis: We perform a series of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models. Results: Overweight adolescents with overweight perceptions are associated with poorer self-rated health (b = −.546, p < .001 for boys; b = −.476, p < .001 for girls), mental health (b = −.278, p < .001 for boys; b = −.433, p < .001 for girls), and life satisfaction (b = −.544, p < .001 for boys; b = −.617, p < .001 for girls) compared to their counterparts with normal weight and normal weight perceptions. Similar patterns have also been observed among normal weight adolescents with overweight perceptions (e.g., normal weight adolescents with overweight perceptions are associated with poorer self-rated health (b = −.541, p < .01 for boys; b = −.447, p < .001 for girls)). Conclusion: Normal weight adolescents are not immune to adverse self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction because their weight perceptions are also a contributing factor to health and well-being consequences.

Overestimation of body weight and its association with parental, teacher, and peer support: Evidence from the Israeli Health Behaviors in Schools (HBSC) survey

Objective: To investigate the association between family, teachers’ and peer support patterns on gaps in adolescent’s weight perceptions. Design: A cross-sectional, school-based survey collected information on weight and height, weight perception, socioeconomic and family characteristics, and social support. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to capture social support patterns (SSP). Multivariable logistic regression was used to model adolescent weight perception, including SSP adjusted for demographic variables. Setting: The 2014 Israeli Health Behaviors in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey Participants: Adolescents aged 11-18 years (n=7,563) Results: In total, 16.1% of the boys and 10.7% of the girls were overweight or obese (OWOB). Most participants perceived their size accurately. Body size was underestimated by 25.6% of the boys and 15.1% of the girls, while 15.2% of the boys and 27.7% of the girls overestimated their body size. PCA generated three SSPs accounting for 81.9% of the variance in social support. Female sex and higher SES increased odds of overestimating body size. Students in the top quartile (Q4 vs. Q1-3) of family support and teacher support were less likely to overestimate their body size. Good parental communication reduced the odds of body size overestimation in middle school students. Male sex and higher family support increased odds of underestimation. Conclusions: Significant support from parents and teachers was associated with accurate weight perceptions; thus, support skills may be amenable to intervention. Efforts should be made to educate adolescents on healthy weight.

Weight Perception Measured by Verbal Descriptions and Visual Descriptions: Which Measurement Correlates with Weight Loss Intentions among Female Nursing Students?

Background: Young females tend to overestimate their weight status, which might induce unhealthy weight loss intentions and behaviours. This study aimed to examine weight perception measured by visual and verbal descriptions and its correlation with weight loss intentions among female nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 600 female nursing students from four medical colleges in Shanghai, China. The participants rated perceptions of their weight by selecting a silhouette from the female Photographic Figure Rating Scale (PFRS) and one of the following verbal descriptions: “very underweight”, “slightly underweight”, “normal”, “overweight” or “obese”. Weight loss intentions were measured using the question “How often do you want to lose weight?”. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from self-reported height and weight. Data were analysed using univariate and ordinal logistic regression analyses. Results: The accuracy of weight perceptions measured by verbal descriptions and visual descriptions was 44.50% and 55%, respectively. In females with underweight BMI (n = 135), 88.15% and 49.63% accurately classified their weight using visual descriptions and verbal descriptions, respectively. These females were more likely to overestimate (53.83% vs. 14.50%) and less likely to underestimate (1.67% vs. 30.50%) their weight when using verbal descriptions than when using visual descriptions. For verbal descriptions, weight overestimation was associated with weight loss intentions (odds ratio, 1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.25–2.60). However, for visual descriptions, the two variables were not associated. Conclusions: A mismatch occurred between weight perceptions measured by the two methods and BMI status among female nursing students. Compared with verbal descriptions, visual descriptions had higher weight perception accuracy. However, weight overestimation measured by verbal descriptions was more likely to be associated with stronger intentions to lose weight than that of visual descriptions. These findings suggest that methodological discrepancies should be taken into account when measuring weight perception in future studies.

Barriers and Facilitators to Nut Consumption: A Narrative Review

Habitual nut intake is associated with a range of health benefits; however, population consumption data suggests that most individuals do not meet current recommendations for nut intake. The literature has highlighted a range of barriers and facilitators to nut consumption, which should be considered when designing strategies to promote nut intake. Common barriers include confusion regarding the effects of nut consumption on body weight, perceptions that nuts are high in fat, or too expensive, and challenges due to dentition issues or nut allergies. Conversely, demographic characteristics such as higher education and income level, and a healthier lifestyle overall, are associated with higher nut intakes. Health professionals appear to play an important role in promoting nut intake; however, research suggests that knowledge of the benefits of nut consumption could be improved in many health professions. Future strategies to increase nut intake to meet public health recommendations must clarify misconceptions of the specific benefits of nut consumption, specifically targeting sectors of the population known to have lower nut consumption, and educate health professionals to promote nut intake. In addition, given the relatively small body of evidence exploring barriers and facilitators to nut consumption, further research exploring these factors is justified.

Are weight status and weight perception associated with academic performance among youth?

Background Emerging evidence suggests perceptions of being overweight account for many of the psychosocial consequences commonly associated with obesity. Previous research suggests an obesity achievement gap, yet limited research has explored weight perception in association with academic performance. Moreover, underweight perceptions have typically been excluded from research. The current study examined how BMI classification and weight perception relate to academic performance in a large cohort of youth. Methods We used cross-sectional survey data from 61,866 grade 9–12 students attending the 122 Canadian schools that participated in Year 6 (2017/2018) of the COMPASS study. Mixed effect regression models were used to examine associations between students’ BMI classification and weight perceptions and their math and English/French course grades. All models were stratified by sex and adjusted for sociodemographic covariates and school clustering. Results For English/French grades, males and females with overweight or underweight perceptions were less likely to achieve higher grades than their peers with perceptions of being at “about the right weight”, controlling for BMI and covariates. For math grades, females with overweight perceptions, and all students with underweight perceptions, were less likely to achieve higher grades than their peers with “about the right weight” perceptions. All students with BMIs in the obesity range were less likely to report grades of 60% or higher than their peers with “normal-weight” BMIs, controlling for weight perception and covariates. Overweight BMIs were predictive of lower achievement in females for English/French grades, and in males for math grades, relative to “normal-weight” BMIs. Results for students that did not respond to the weight and weight perception items resembled those for obesity BMI and overweight/underweight perceptions, respectively. Conclusions Overall, this study demonstrates that an obesity achievement gap remains when controlling for students’ perceptions of their weight, and that both underweight and overweight perceptions predict lower academic performance, regardless of BMI classification. Results suggest barriers to academic success exist among youth with larger body sizes, and those with perceptions of deviating from “about the right weight”.