Obesity and maternal perception: a cross-sectional study of children aged 6 to 8 years in Kuwait.

Abstract

Childhood obesity is on the increase in the Middle East. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of obesity in those aged six to eight years and to investigate maternal perception of child weight. A nation-wide study of data on height and weight were obtained from nurses' records, and maternal perceptions were assessed through a self-administered questionnaire. Sample size comprised 2208 individuals with BMI measurements and 1002 with BMI and maternal perception data. The prevalence of overweight and obese children combined was 40.9% as per WHO cut-off values and 39.7% as per Centres for Disease Control and Prevention categorizations. We also found that 77.9% of overweight and 45.4% of obese children were perceived by their mothers to have healthy body weights. Additionally, 39.8% of children with normal weight were also judged by their mothers to be underweight. An alarmingly high prevalence of childhood obesity among Kuwaiti children, coupled with mothers distorted perception of their child's actual weight status is a serious concern that requires urgent public health intervention.