Abstract P46: Misperception of Body Size and Barriers to Weight Loss among Families

Background: Misperception of body size and barriers to weight loss are prevalent in families at risk for cardiovascular disease. Methods: Women (n=111) and their pre-adolescent children (n=111) at an academic medical clinic were surveyed regarding socio-demographics, anthropometrics, weight loss attitudes, and body size perception. Results: The majority of women self-identified as Hispanic (79.3%), age 40±7 yrs. Children's age ranged from 7-13 yrs (10.5±1.3 yrs) with 51.4% girls. Among mothers, 65.8% were overweight (OW) or obese (OB), avg BMI 27.7 ± 5.1. Children's avg BMI percentile was 72.3%; 38.9% were OW or OB. OB women (81.8%) underestimated weight more than OW (42.5%) and normal weight (NW) women (13.2%) (p < .0001). Analogous to mothers, 85.7% of OW or OB children underestimated weight vs 15.2% of NW children (p < 0.0001). OB (97.0%) and OW (77.5%) women had more body dissatisfaction, the difference between self-perceived and ideal size, than NW women (42.1%) (p < 0.0001); similarly, 77.8% of OB and 50.0% of OW children were dissatisfied vs 26.7% of NW children (p < 0.0001). Overall, 55.7% of all women were attempting weight loss by improving eating habits (67.2%), exercising (40.3%), dieting (13.5%), medications (12.6%), and surgery (4.5%). Weight loss barriers included family responsibilities (27.0%), time (25.2%), money (11.7%), and employment (11.7%). OW and OB women were more likely to cite family responsibilities (34.3% vs 13.2%, p=0.018) and employment (16.4% vs 2.6%, p=0.03) then NW women. Almost half (46.3%) used nutrition labels “always” or “most of the time,” however 37.0% did not know daily caloric consumption. Women with ≤ 8 years education (73.3%) were less likely to know their caloric consumption compared to those with 9-12 years (42.9%) and > 12 years (16.7%) (p=0.003). Conclusion: Misperception of body size is common among OW/OB women and children in this urban population. However, these women and children are also highly dissatisfied with their current body size, indicating some awareness and prompting more then half to attempt weight loss. Strategies to overcome the obesity epidemic should emphasize healthy body size goals and address barriers including family responsibilities, time, and lack of proper nutritional knowledge.