VOLUME 6: NO. 2 APRIL 2009 Low Awareness of Overweight Status Among Parents of Preschool-Aged Children, Minnesota, 2004-2005 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Suggested citation for this article: Harnack L, Lytle L, Himes JH, Story M, Taylor G, Bishop D. Low awareness of overweight status among parents of preschool-aged chil- dren, Minnesota, 2004-2005. Prev Chronic Dis 2009;6(2). http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2009/apr/08_0043.htm. Accessed [date]. PEER REVIEWED Abstract Introduction Many studies have found that parents of overweight children do not perceive their child to be overweight. Little is known, however, about the extent to which such misperceptions exist among parents of preschool-aged children. Methods We analyzed data that were collected in 2004-2005 from parents of 593 preschool-aged children in 20 child care centers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, metro- politan area. Parents were asked how they would clas- sify their preschooler’s weight, and children’s height and weight were measured. Results Of the predominantly white, educated sample, most parents (90.7%) of overweight preschoolers classified their child as normal weight. An even higher percentage (94.7%) of children at risk for overweight were classified as normal weight by their parents. Most parents of normal- weight children classified their child’s weight as average. However, 16.0% classified their normal-weight child as underweight or very underweight. Conclusion Results indicate that parents are unlikely to recognize childhood overweight among preschool-aged children, which is concerning because parents of overweight children may be unlikely to engage in obesity prevention efforts for their child if they do not recognize their child’s risk status. A notable proportion of parents of normal-weight children perceived their child to be underweight, which suggests that parents of normal-weight children may be more con- cerned with undernutrition than overnutrition. Introduction Over the past several decades the prevalence of child- hood overweight has been increasing in the United States (1,2). The prevalence rate is alarming, especially among preschool-aged children. National survey data indicate that 13.9% of children aged 2 to 5 years are overweight and 12.3% are at risk for overweight (2). Childhood overweight is associated with adverse health outcomes, and childhood body mass index (BMI) influences adult adiposity (3). Furthermore, a recent study found that children who were at or above the 85th BMI percentile during the preschool period were more than 5 times more likely to be overweight at age 12 than those at a low BMI percentile (4). Parents of overweight children often do not perceive their child to be overweight (5-15). This problem is par- ticularly acute among younger children (6,8,14,15). Low recognition of childhood overweight may be problematic The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors’ affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above. www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2009/apr/08_0043.htm • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  Lisa Harnack, DrPH, Leslie Lytle, PhD, John H. Himes, PhD, MPH, Mary Story, PhD, Gretchen Taylor, MPH, Don Bishop, PhD