Health Report Cards Raise Weight Issues
Health-Based Report Cards May Help Combat Childhood Obesity
Aug. 11, 2003 -- Health-based report cards may carry a lot of weight among parents and help fight childhood obesity.
A new study shows parents who received report cards with weight and health information about their children were more likely to be aware of their child's weight and initiate weight-loss activities for overweight children.
Researchers say this novel approach may be an important tool for schools interested in informing and motivating parents about obese and overweight children.
Many schools collect height and weight information each year and want to share this information with parents, but researchers say that until now little was known about the risks and benefits of this approach.
According to national statistics, the prevalence of childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years from 4%-5% of children aged 6 to 19 in 1963-66 to 15% in 1999-2000. Children are considered overweight or obese if their body mass index (BMI) is at or above the 95th percentile for their age and sex. BMI is a measurement of weight in relation to height.
Health Report Cards Carry Weight
In the study, published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, researchers surveyed 399 families with students from four different elementary schools in an urban area. The children's families were randomly assigned to receive one of the following three interventions:
- A health and fitness report card that included the child's weight and BMI of the child
- General information about weight and weight loss without specifics about the child
- No intervention at all
Researchers found that parents of overweight or obese children were nearly twice as likely to know their child's weight status if they received either the personalized or general health report card vs. no information at all.
Parents who received personal information about their child's weight were also more likely to plan on seeking medical advice, initiate dieting activities, and physical activities for their overweight or obese children than the other two groups.
"In our study, although no change in behavior was found, parents who received a health report card with information on their child's BMI category were more aware of their child's weight status than those who did not receive any information," writes researcher Virginia Chomitz, PhD, of the Institute for Community Health in Cambridge, Mass., and colleagues.
"Parents wanted the personalized weight information; however, more research is needed to understand how this approach may affect overweight children's self-esteem and parents' intentions to initiate weight-control actions."