Researchers surveyed the parents of 277 children and found that
only a quarter recognised when their offspring were overweight.
Where children were obese, a third of mothers and 57% of fathers
thought their sons and daughters were "about right". Parents
were less likely to recognise overweight boys than girls in the
study more than a quarter (27%) of boys who were overweight and
obese were identified as such. This compares with more than half
(54%) of parents recognising overweight and obese girls. The
study also revealed that some parents showed a lack of concern
towards their children's weight problems. Although more than
half of obese children's parents expressed some concern over
their child's condition, only a quarter of parents of overweight
children described themselves as even "a little worried" about
it. Misjudging weight problems was not confined to their
children however. The researchers also found that of those
parents who were overweight themselves, 40% of mothers and 45%
of fathers judged their