Do YOU have 'obliviobesity'? Rising number of parents are oblivious to the fact their child is obese, says doctor who has coined the new phrase 

• Parental obliviousness to their children's weight is driving obesity crisis
• Ignoring their child is obese or overweight prevents them slimming down
• Dr David Katz, of Yale University, said it is a growing, global problem
• He's coined the phrase 'obliviobesity' warning it's undermining efforts to tackle the 'rampant childhood obesity issue' 

By Lizzie Parry for MailOnline

Published: 09:26 EST, 7 May 2015 | Updated: 10:54 EST, 7 May 2015

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Dr David Katz, from Yale University, argues a phenomenon he brands 'obliviobesity' is partly to blame for the childhood obesity epidemic

'Obliviobesity' is a growing, global phenomenon, which is driving the obesity epidemic. 

That is the warning from one expert who fears parental obliviousness to their childrens' weight is preventing youngsters from slimming down.

A parent's ignorance of their child's weight problem makes it harder for their offspring to achieve a healthy weight, Dr David Katz, of Yale University argues.

Coining the phrase, 'obliviobesity,' he warned the phenomenon undermines ongoing efforts to combat rampant childhood obesity.

He said if obese children and teenagers do not recognise their weight as a problem, they are much less likely to attempt to lose weight.

Writing in Childhood Obesity, the journal's editor-in-chief, Dr Katz, points to a recent study, which examined the BMI of almost 3,000 children as well as their parents' perceptions of their weight.

The research, published in the British Journal of General Practice, found almost one in three parents underestimate the weight of their offspring.

Parents taking part judged just four of 2,976 children as being very overweight.

According to participants' BMI, that number was, in fact, 369.

Dr Katz said the findings suggest a changing sense of what constitutes 'normal', could be to blame. 

He said: 'As the average weight of children in the UK rises, what every parent considers normal seems to rise with it.'

It is not the first time, Dr Katz notes, that parental obliviousness to their child's weight has been documented. 

Studies into populations in New Zealand, the US, Australia, Belgium, Ireland and the Pacific islands have all reported the tendency.

'With a global footprint, the predilection may warrant a name all of its own: obliviobesity,' Dr Katz said.

'Parental obliviousness bedevils our responses to rampant childhood obesity in ways that are largely self-evident.

'Whether or not knowledge is reliably power, denial and delusion are reliably disempowering.'

In order to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic, Dr Katz, said there must be a recognition of the problem of 'obliviobesity'.

He cited the best examples of costly denial as alcoholism and addiction, 'where acknowledgement of the problem is uniformly recognised as the first part of the solution'. 

But to gather objective information regarding childrens' weight, is controversial, Dr Katz acknowledged.

He referenced the example of Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas, when he introduced universal BMI report cards in schools across the state.

As a result, a modest decline in obesity rates was recorded.

But, Dr Katz said, 'ambivalence about weighing kids in schools prevails'.

'The worry persists that making kids step on a scale will embarrass or stigmatise them, and sending information about obesity home to parents will, in essence, "blame the victims",' he added. 

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Dr Katz said parental obliviousness to their childrens' weight is preventing youngsters from slimming down

'If we are to eradicate obliviobesity, it will not be with objective measures alone, but also with compassion, guidance, and empowerment in the mix.'

He argues ignorance as to how much our children weigh, and whether or not it is a threat to their health, 'invites potentially grave consequences'.

A report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July last year, assessed actual weight with a child's perception of their weight.

Researchers discovered more than 80 per cent of overweight boys, and 70 per cent of overweight girls mispercieved their weight as 'normal'.

'The frequency of such misperception declined as socioecononmic status rose, indicating that families with more resources were more likely to have heightened awareness of healthy weight.'

A second article, published around a week later in Preventing Chronic Disease, also compared actual and percieved weight in a group of children and adolescents.

Researchers analysed the correlation between perception of weight and attempts to lose weight.

As in the other studies, a large proportion of the children and their parents underestimated their weight.

And this group was three times less likely to take steps to lose weight, than those children who accurately assessed their weight.

An obsession with weight and weight loss is not healthy, noted Dr. Katz, and weight is certainly not a measure of human worth.

Rather, the focus instead should be on promoting health and avoiding the long-term consequences of obesity, as a family, by eating well, being active, and helping children lose weight in a loving and supportive environment.

Dr Katz, added: 'Should we know whether or not our kids, or ourselves, are overweight? 

'Of course, just as we should know—before a mechanical calamity—that the oil in our car needs changing, or our tire pressure is low. 

'Obesity in our children, as in ourselves, is associated with a genuinely dire array of potential consequences. 

'Avoiding these is best done with early intervention, rather than late.

Obliviousness far more reliably translates into powerlessness. 

'Parents cannot ignore the threat of obesity to our children and still hope to fix it. We can, however, fix it, without fixating on it. 

'The BMI is just a measure of potential health risk, like a dashboard indicator light. 

'When it flashes, it is not an indication of failure or neglect, but an invitation for corrective action before things go from bad to worse.'

Obliviobesity: Looking Over the Overweight that Parents Keep Overlooking was published in the journal Childhood Obesity. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3071812/Do-obliviobesity-New-phrase-coined-rising-number-parents-oblivious-fact-child-obese.html#ixzz3ZTWmxhmb
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