Parents of obese kids think they’re okay. Obesity is a problem for all age groups in the U.S., but it looks like the changing bodies of Americans are affecting the weights we think are okay. A new study out this week “examined height and weight data on 2,871 children from the 1988 to 1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and 3,202 similar kids from the 2005 to 2010 cycles of the survey…In the 1988 to 1994 data set, 78 percent of parents of an overweight boy and 61 percent of parents of an overweight girl, identified the child as ‘about the right weight.’ That number increased to 83 percent for boys and 78 percent for girls in the 2005 to 2010 period. Similarly, for obese boys, 26 percent of parents said they were ‘about the right weight’ in 1988 compared to 37 percent in 2010.” And it wasn’t just the parents. “Many kids also identify themselves as about the right weight even if they are overweight or obese, and those kids are less likely to try to lose weight.” This is concerning because parents who perceive their child’s weight as a problem are more likely to try and encourage healthy eating and exercise.

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