Misperceptions May Pave the Way to Obesity
Many moms of chubby toddlers don't realize their babies are large for their age, and this misperception may be setting the stage for their tots to grow up to be overweight or obese, a new study shows.
Nearly 70% of moms inaccurately assessed their toddler's body size when selecting an image they thought reflected their child's body size. Moms of overweight toddlers were more than 88% less likely to accurately perceive their child's body size when compared to moms of toddlers with a healthy weight, the study shows.
Overall, more than two-thirds of moms were satisfied with their toddler's body size. More mothers of healthy-weight or overweight toddlers were likely to be satisfied than mothers of underweight toddlers.
Erin R. Hager, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, looked at how 281 moms viewed their child's body size.
