Weighing children; parents agree, but GPs conflicted

Autor: Emma L Ladewig, Alan Kelly, Udo Reulbach, Brendan O'Shea, Tom O'Dowd
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Archives of Disease in Childhood. 99:543-545
ISSN: 1468-2044
0003-9888
DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2013-304090
Popis: Background General practitioners (GPs) do not routinely check children9s weight, partly due to concern regarding parental/child response. The aim of this study is to compare GP concerns regarding weighing with parental/child responses. Objective Compare GP insights on weighing children with the experience of parents whose children had been weighed. Methods Part 1: postal survey of 20% sample of Irish GPs. Part 2: general practice-based study checking weight of 5–12 year olds attending 10 practices, with postconsultation parental survey. Setting Irish General Practice. Participants 393 GPs and 457 parents. Outcome measures GP (n=393) and parental (n=434) responses. Results Of 490 GPs surveyed, 393 responded (response rate 80.2%). Few GPs (3.56%) always checked children9s weight. Concern regarding parental response was often (52.2%) or always (19.0%) a concern that affected the likelihood of discussing a child9s weight. Among children (n=457), 14.9% were overweight and 10.9% obese. Almost all (98.6%) parents indicated checking weight was helpful. 4.4% of parents and just over 1 in 4 obese children responded negatively to weighing. Overweight children were more likely to respond negatively (χ 2 =62.6, df=4, p Conclusions GPs are conflicted regarding the acceptability of weighing the child but almost all parents believed it helpful. A minority of obese children responded negatively.
Databáze: OpenAIRE