Abstract
The scope of this study was to relate child obesity with the family’s perception of the child’s silhouette’s and concern with excess weight in childhood A cross-sectional study was conducted among children aged between 20 and 48 months who frequent Health Units or are preschoolers in the city of Curitiba from June to December 2014. A questionnaire was used to collect data relating to family income, weight, height, perception of child silhouette’s and assess concern about obesity by parents. Overweight and obesity was not correctly perceived by relations (kappa = 0,11) and the vast majority of parents did not know the child’s height and weight and were not even concerned with childhood obesity. In the population studied, children from lower income family were more likely to suffer from overweight in childhood (p = 0,02). It is necessary to invest in the sensitization of families, since it is extremely important to pay attention to obesity from childhood onwards, thus preventing new cases and avoiding problems in adult life.
Childhood obesity; Family perception; Socioeconomic level
