Familiar funtioning and parertal perception of the nutritional status of their preschool children

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the parental perception of the nutritional status of their children, relating it to family functioning and the knowledge that adults had about childhood obesity. The study involved 86 fathers and mothers, and the nutritional diagnosis was obtained of 86 pre-school children. The Family Functioning Scale (FFSIL), the Infant Obesity Knowledge Scale (ECOI), were used as instruments and the Weight/Height ratio index was used to measure the nutritional status of the children. As a result, the parents of overweight and obese children presented a 91,6% perception error. In addition, it was found that parents who perceive their children as underweight or normal weight have better family functioning than parents who perceive their children as overweight or obese. These differences are also seen in the communication and role variables. This allows to reveal the influence of the family environment and the involvement of parents in the prevention and promotion of nutritional health of their children.