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Low parental health literacy limits child’s weight-loss options
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Parents who struggle to understand basic health nutrition information are less likely to turn to recommended weight-loss strategies for their children, including increasing physical activity and eating more fruits and vegetables, according to research in Appetite.
In an analysis of survey data from U.S. parents of preschool-age children participating in a prospective, longitudinal panel study, researchers found that parents with low health literacy endorsed a narrower range of strategies overall and also were more likely to consider unsafe weight-loss choices, including diet pills.
Janet M. Liechty
Janet M. Liechty, PhD, of the School of Social Work and the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and colleagues analyzed data from the first of three waves of the STRONG Kids study, a Midwest panel survey that followed 497 pairs of children and their primary caregivers beginning in 2009. Caregivers were 90% women; mean age, 33 years; 67% white. Researchers measured health literacy with the Newest Vital Signs, a six-item standardized assessment of health literacy based on a person’s ability to interpret information on an ice cream nutrition label. Participants also were asked to designate where they would seek weight-loss information for their child, rating 15 sources, including television, pediatrician or newspaper, on a scale of 1 to 5, ranging from “very unlikely” to “likely.” Parents also chose from 24 weight-loss strategies they would consider for themselves or their child. Government-recommended strategies included among the choices were increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, increasing exercise and decreasing fat intake, whereas neutral strategies (neither endorsed by government agencies, nor considered unsafe) included eating low-calorie foods, keeping a food diary, counting calories, reducing the amount of food eaten and practicing stress management.
Researchers found that 16% of caregivers in the cohort had low health literacy and endorsed an average of 4.3 weight-loss strategies. Within the cohort, 58% of participants with adequate health literacy endorsed all three of the government-recommended weight-loss strategies for children vs. 24% of participants with low health literacy. Caregivers with low health literacy also chose fewer recommended weight-loss strategies vs. caregivers with higher health literacy.
In addition, 0.5% of caregivers with adequate health literacy chose at least one unsafe weight-loss strategy vs. 2.7% of caregivers with low health literacy, according to researchers.
“Parents with higher health literacy were more likely to check the recommended weight-control strategies, and it’s concerning that parents with lower health literacy were significantly less likely to do so,” Liechty said in a press release. “About 3% of the parents with lower health literacy also indicated that they would consider using unsafe tactics, such as having their child take laxatives or diet pills.”
Researchers said clinicians should give more attention to parents’ attitudes regarding weight loss and dieting.
“Brief, standardized measures of health literacy may be helpful in screening parents with insufficient awareness of recommended strategies,” the researchers wrote. “Tailored dissemination strategies and educational approaches are needed that enhance parent health literacy and ensure access to safe and effective approaches to weight management in the family.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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