Parental knowledge and beliefs about childhood obesity-related co-morbidities

Obesity-related co-morbidities among children have increasingly become a public health concern as obesity reaches epidemic proportions in the US. Minorities disproportionately bear the burden of obesity and associated co-morbidities. Therefore, it is important to determine whether minority populations are aware of the associations between childhood overweight and elevated risk for chronic diseases. Data from Caucasian and African-American parents of school-aged children who were surveyed annually as part of the evaluation of Arkansas Act 1220 of 2003 to reduce childhood obesity were analyzed to examine parental awareness and beliefs about obesity-related co-morbidities. African-American parents were less likely to recognize the association of obesity with diabetes (OR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.42-0.84) compared to Caucasian parents; however, African-American parents were more likely to identify high blood pressure as a potential health problem for overweight children (OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.22-2.52). African-American parents were less likely to report that overweight (OW) children will become OW adults (OR=0.32, 95% CI: 0.17-0.59). However, African-American parents were nearly four times as likely to report that OW children will develop health problems due to their OW status compared to Caucasian parents(OR = 3.77, 95% CI: 1.24-11.47). Results suggest that comprehensive public health messages about risks associated with childhood obesity may not be fully reaching high-risk populations, e.g., African Americans. Implementation of culturally-appropriate methods to convey this information and to provide risk reduction strategies are likely to enhance public health campaigns to reduce childhood obesity among minority groups.