Parental perception of childs body weight status and its association with socio-demographic factors among Malay children in primary schools in Kuala Terengganu Malaysia

Nurzaime Zulaily, . and Aryati Ahmad, . and Mohd Razif Shahril, . and Amran Ahmed, . Parental perception of childs body weight status and its association with socio-demographic factors among Malay children in primary schools in Kuala Terengganu Malaysia. pp. 173-187. ISSN 1394–035X

Introduction: Obesity rate among school children has increased globally. Parental perception plays a significant role in the management of obesity among children. Previous studies indicated that parents who accurately perceived their childs body weight status (BWS) tended to encourage healthy behaviours as compared to parents who overlooked the problem. Therefore this study aimed to determine the association between socio-demographic factors with parental perceptions of their childs BWS among school children in Terengganu Malaysia. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design 389 school children aged 9 to 11 years old were recruited. Height and weight were measured using calibrated tools and inputted into the World Health Organization AnthroPlus software for body mass index z-score calculation. Parental perceptions of their childs BWS were explored using a selfadministered questionnaire together with their socio-demographic background. Results: Of 389 subjects 53.2 of school children were from rural and 46.8 were from urban schools. Overall mean BMI-for-age z-score between school locations showed no significant difference with higher means reported in urban (-0.21.6SD) than in rural (-0.41.6SD). Significant association was found between parents perceptions and actual BWS (p0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that parents of overweight children and parents in rural schools were more likely to misperceive their childs BWS. Conclusion: This finding suggests that parents from rural areas and having overweight children were more likely to have misperceptions of their childs BWS. Therefore knowledge-based intervention programmes among parents specifically in the rural areas are needed to increase the level of awareness to assist in obesity prevention.

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Abstract

Introduction: Obesity rate among school children has increased globally. Parental perception plays a significant role in the management of obesity among children. Previous studies indicated that parents who accurately perceived their childs body weight status (BWS) tended to encourage healthy behaviours as compared to parents who overlooked the problem. Therefore this study aimed to determine the association between socio-demographic factors with parental perceptions of their childs BWS among school children in Terengganu Malaysia. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design 389 school children aged 9 to 11 years old were recruited. Height and weight were measured using calibrated tools and inputted into the World Health Organization AnthroPlus software for body mass index z-score calculation. Parental perceptions of their childs BWS were explored using a selfadministered questionnaire together with their socio-demographic background. Results: Of 389 subjects 53.2 of school children were from rural and 46.8 were from urban schools. Overall mean BMI-for-age z-score between school locations showed no significant difference with higher means reported in urban (-0.21.6SD) than in rural (-0.41.6SD). Significant association was found between parents perceptions and actual BWS (p0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that parents of overweight children and parents in rural schools were more likely to misperceive their childs BWS. Conclusion: This finding suggests that parents from rural areas and having overweight children were more likely to have misperceptions of their childs BWS. Therefore knowledge-based intervention programmes among parents specifically in the rural areas are needed to increase the level of awareness to assist in obesity prevention.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	Child
AGROVOC Term:	Children
AGROVOC Term:	Body weight
AGROVOC Term:	Obesity
AGROVOC Term:	School children
AGROVOC Term:	Questionnaires
AGROVOC Term:	Overweight
AGROVOC Term:	Parents
AGROVOC Term:	Rural areas
AGROVOC Term:	Family size
Depositing User:	Mr. AFANDI ABDUL MALEK
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 00:55
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/9489

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