Journal of Obesity

Research Article

The Impact of Parents’ Categorization of Their Own Weight and Their Child’s Weight on Healthy Lifestyle Promoting Beliefs and Practices

Table 3

Multivariable adjusted odds ratios (AORs) of parental agreement survey items related to childhood obesity, diet, and physical activity ().


Survey item	All parents of overweight¹ versus normal weight¹ child	Overweight¹ versus normal weight¹parents of overweight¹ children
Survey item	AOR (95% CI)	AOR (95% CI)

Childhood obesity-general
Being overweight or obese as a child can cause serious illnesses	1.09 (0.62–1.93)	3.11 (0.99–9.73)
Childhood obesity is a serious problem in Georgia	1.52 (1.19–1.94)^***	1.43 (0.89–2.31)
Little can be done for overweight children because weight problems run in families	1.28 (0.87–1.91)	0.98 (0.43–2.21)
Parents as role models
It is important for me to eat well and be active because I am a role model for my child	0.96 (0.58–1.60)	0.57 (0.19–1.67)
Parents don’t need to do anything about child overweight as they will grow out of it	1.42 (0.87–2.31)	0.77 (0.32–1.87)
Child’s weight
I am concerned with my child’s weight	17.06 (12.65–23.01)^***	1.18 (0.69–2.01)
I am ready to address my child’s weight	3.76 (2.91–4.86)^***	0.88 (0.54–1.42)
As long as my child is happy, his/her weight doesn’t matter	1.36 (0.90–2.07)	0.79 (0.37–1.69)
Child’s diet
I try to teach my child about healthy eating choices	1.16 (0.76–1.78)	0.54 (0.22–1.37)
I am concerned with what my child eats	4.32 (3.12–5.98)^***	1.10 (0.56–2.14)
I am trying to change my family’s eating habits for the better	1.49 (1.11–2.00)^**	1.11 (0.62–1.97)
My friends and family think it’s important that children eat a healthy diet	0.69 (0.50–0.97)^*	0.97 (0.52–1.81)
I can provide healthy meals for my child even when busy	0.70 (0.53–0.93)^*	0.47 (0.27–0.85)^*
It takes more time and effort to eat healthy	1.15 (0.90–1.47)	1.83 (1.13–2.96)^*
It costs too much to eat healthy	1.13 (0.87–1.46)	1.58 (0.96–2.61)
Child’s physical activity
I am concerned with how much activity or exercise my child gets	3.66 (2.69–5.00)^***	0.95 (0.51–1.77)
I am ready to make nutrition and activity change today	3.76 (2.91–4.86)^***	0.88 (0.54–1.42)
Technology causes my child to spend less time in physical activity than I would prefer	2.01 (1.56–2.58)^***	1.01 (0.62–1.63)

; ; (two-sided level of significance in relation to their normal weight comparator).
^†Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression and were adjusted for parent gender, race/ethnicity, income, parent education, geographic residence, child gender, and child age.
¹Weight status of parents and children is that as perceived by the parents.