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Perception versus Reality

An Exploration of Children's Measured Body Mass in Relation to Caregivers' Estimates

Adelphi University, USA, akerman{at}adelphi.edu

Marsha E. Williams

Nickelodeon, USA

John Meunier

Cogent Research, USA

This study investigated the relationship between parents' reports, as compared with our obtained measurements, of their children's body status. Separate body mass index (BMI) scores were calculated based on: (1) parents' report of their children's height and weight, and (2) children's measured height and weight. Results indicate that parents' perceptions of their children's body status reliably varied from the scores obtained from our measurements, such that parents whose children classified as overweight consistently underreported their children's BMI, while parents whose children fell into the underweight category did the opposite. Implications for the potential psychological mechanisms at play in addition to how these findings might relate to the larger childhood obesity crisis in the United States and internationally are discussed.

Key Words: accuracy • body weight • obesity • parenting • perception

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Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 12, No. 6, 871-882 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1359105307082449


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