Your kid is fat do you not know that ?

Most of us don’t have too much trouble spotting people who are seriously overweight. A quick glance is all it takes to see little rolls of fat and a protruding belly.

But parents often can’t see THE FAT, according to research published in Acta Paediatrica.

Parents missing the signs in their kids

The research quizzed parents on the weight status of themselves and their kids. 439 children between the ages of 4 and 5, were included in the study, 22 of the kids (5 %) were considered to be overweight, and a further 10 kids (4 %) were obese, based on weight charts.

The parents of the overweight kids missed the fact, most of the time. 75 % of the Mom’s and 77 % of the Dad’s saw junior as being normal weight.

Mom’s and Dad’s appeared to be a lot better and working out their own weight status. The majority of overweight and obese parents recognized the situation.

Parents not body literate

Struggling to get to get to grips with the kids body shapes was not restricted to the fat kids.

The researchers found that parents of normal weight children had difficulty assessing body shape. As part of the study, parents had to select the silhouette which bet matched their child.

Parents of normal weight children tended to think their child was one sketch slimmer than their BMI (body mass index) indicated.

Parents not really worried

Since the majority of the fat kids parents, were blissfully unaware of the weight problem – they weren’t particularly worried.

Mom’s that were aware – were a little worried.

It is not PUPPY FAT and FAT is not normal

The research team never attempted to answer why parents don’t know their kids of fat, but they speculated that as “normal” shifts to the heavy side, fat kids are less likely to be the exception, so they don’t stick out quite as much.

Being FAT is the new normal

This may have benefits for the psychological well being of fat kids, but it doesn’t change the fact, being fat is costly.

Puppy fat is more often than not – permanent ! Kids with weight issues seldom outgrow them. Weight problems are related to bad body chemistry and bad body chemistry brings a long list of health troubles. The longer the body’s chemistry is malfunctioning, the bigger the risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Take a careful look

Many would argue, the medical world loves to see disease were none exists, but obesity needs to be recognized as trouble brewing.

So………….. are you raising a heffa-lump ?

Don’t use the kids in the neighbourhood as a guide, weigh and measure against physiological NORMAL.

If your kid is on the heavy side – do something to improve their body chemistry.

How do parents of 4- to 5-year-old children perceive the weight of their children? Acta Paediatrica (2010) 99: 263-267 . HGM Oude Luttikhuis, RP Stolk, PJJ Sauer

Interested in learning more about the chemistry behind those extra fat layers ?

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