Parent’s perceptions of weight status influenced their own and their child’s healthful behaviors. These findings support the theory that behaviors of the family unit are inextricably interrelated and must be considered for any research or interventional
design relating to healthful lifestyle change. Changes to child health-related behaviors were predicted by several key parent and child weight related variables. The child weight interaction variable, but not parent concern about child weight, was a significant predictor of child behavior change. This indicates that parents accurately categorizing
their child’s weight (rather than reporting concern about their child’s weight) tended to make child lifestyle behavior modifications. This finding is supported by the OR indicating that parents who accurately perceived their child as overweight/ obese were 3.24 times as likely to make more lifestyle changes for their child than parents
with inaccurate perceptions about their child’s overweight/ obese status. Previous literature suggests that many parents downplay potential health risks of child obesity 34 or feel their child will grow out of their current weight status.35 Additionally,
several studies have found that parents can more