Health professionals having access to both child and parent weight status information are uniquely positioned to tap into parent health status information to promote child healthy behavior change and vice versa. Whether the goal is to promote child or parent behavior change, health promotion efforts should focus on making sure parents have
an accurate perception of their child’s weight and less attention on increasing parent concern of child weight. Further, focus should be placed on ensuring parents have an appropriate level of concern regarding their own weight status. Ensuring parents have
accurate perceptions of child weight status and appropriate concern for own weight status may improve the likelihood of family level changes