Childhood Obesity and Parental Health Literacy

Abstract

Recent data have indicated that having a high body mass index poses immense health risks to children, and adolescents. This review describes the recent research on childhood obesity-an epidemic of global proportions-and parental health literacy. Based on the available information, it provides guidelines for public health professionals interested in preventing or reducing overweight in youth and obesity in adults. To this end, English language peer reviewed publications and data reporting on the topics of overweight, obesity and health literacy were reviewed to specifically examine the interrelationship of these factors. Findings reveal childhood obesity is an ongoing widespread health concern, where intervening to prevent the onset of obesity should start in the formative years. It is concluded that such strategies should be grounded upon fostering accurate parental perceptions about the condition, as well as efforts to help parents with low health literacy to detect and intervene upon this condition.