Parents told by a doctor that their child is overweight : do we have more work to do?

2* QUAM V®** SCHS Studies A Publication of the State Center for Health Statistics 1908 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-1908 (919) 733-4728 • www.schs.state.nc.us/SCHS No. 165 June 2011 Parents Told by a Doctor that Their Child Is Overweight: Do We Have More Work to Do? Donna R. Miles, PhD Asheley Cockrell Skinner, PhD Eliana Miller Perrin, MD, MPH Abstract Objective: Childhood obesity is a major public health concern; however, diagnosis and counseling with parents on childhood overweight by health care professionals (HCP) remains low. Our objective is to examine the rate at which parents in North Carolina report that a HCP told them that their child is overweight. Methods: From 2007-2009, 5,699 parents with a child aged 5-17 years participated in the North Carolina Child Health Assessment and Monitoring Program (CHAMP) and provided reports of children’s height and weight. During the CHAMP survey, respondents were asked to report whether during the past year a HCP had told them that their child was overweight. Analyses using weighted data provided population-based estimates by child’s weight status. Results: Eleven percent (95% Cl 8.63, 14.18) of parents with an overweight child, and 31 percent (95% Cl 27.37, 34.90) of parents with an obese child reported having been told by a HCP that their child is overweight. Parents were more likely to report that a HCP had told them that their child was overweight if the child had a preventive health care visit within the past 12 months. Parents of teens (ages 12-17) were more likely to have been counseled by a physician than parents of younger children (ages 5-11). Conclusion: Few parents report having been told that their overweight or even obese child was overweight by a health care provider, which helps to explain lack of parent awareness of children’s overweight status. Policy changes (e.g., reimbursement) and interventions (e.g., screening tools and trainings to improve self-efficacy) to support Body Mass Index (BMI) screening by HCP’s may increase HCP communication about weight status to overweight and obese pediatric patients and their parents. Donna R. Miles is with the State Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, NC. Asheley Cockrell Skinner and Eliana Miller Perrin are with the Division of General Pediatrics and Adoelscent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. JWlc nc department of health and human services STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health f North Carolina Public Health