Children called "chubby" by parents gain more weight

Even when children are normal weight, the perception of parents can get them to put on weight more than other children.

            

A child with overweight hardly forget how to be chubby, even after it becomes an adult. The stigma of obesity is already being felt from this phase and creates a vicious cycle - for fear of being judged or bullied by peers, the fat child begins to avoid physical activity in general, which puts their health at risk.

Attempts to protect the body and mind of fuller figured have worsened the situation. The betting schools in the US and UK has been measuring the height and weight of the child and inform parents if there is overweight. That's because they believe that parents do not realize when the child's weight is above normal and do not provide balanced meals at home.

Researchers from both countries tested this hypothesis with 3,500 children aged 4 years. She was right half: 80% of parents of overweight children thought that the body mass index of the children was normal. But the other 20% were fully aware that their children were chubby and this was not much help.

The study followed children from 4 to 13 years. Participants considered fat by parents gained more weight at this stage than those considered normal. According to the authors, the relationship was shot and fall: every time you made the measurements over these nine years, the perception of parents as the body of the children provided a weight gain.

The association had nothing to do with the body of the participants itself, scientists guarantee. That's because some parents thought their children were overweight when their BMI was totally normal. Over the years, these children also put on weight, just like those who were really chubby.

If the weight gain is not a matter of physical type, the authors believe that the causes are psychological. Spending by obesity stigma during this phase of development, seeing the negative stereotype of being fat spread by the media, is one of the risk factors for developing food cravings. The food becomes a form of consolation and chubby child becomes obese adolescents. Rather than translate into positive change habits, perception of overweight parents of children becomes a autorealizada prophecy.