ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to evaluate how mothers perceived the appetite and body shape of their children using gender- and age-specific development sketches. STUDY DESIGN: The study design used in the study is a single-centred descriptive study. METHODS: We included 153 children aged 2-14 years and their mothers who attended family medicine polyclinic outpatient services, for any reason, at the University of Health Sciences, Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, between February 2019 and April 2019. Weight and height measurements of both the children and their mothers were taken. In addition, the mothers completed the sociodemographic data form and were asked to select an image from the gender- and age-specific development sketches that best represented their child's body shape. Participants were divided into four groups by their body mass index (BMI) in accordance with criteria from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Results were compared using appropriate statistical procedures. RESULTS: A significant weak positive correlation was observed between maternal BMI and child BMI (r = 0.166, P = 0.041). When the maternally perceived BMI (determined by the age-specific development sketches) was compared with the actual BMI values of children, mothers perceived their underweight children to be in higher BMI groups, whereas the overweight and obese children were perceived to be in lower BMI groups. The results were similar when the same comparison was made for the mother's expectation (i.e. the body shape the mother desired for their child). CONCLUSIONS: When mothers were asked to visually evaluate the body shape of their children, their responses were inaccurate compared with both the actual data and the researcher's evaluation. Obtaining verbal assessments from mothers about their children (e.g. an assessment of the child's bodily appearance) is important for physicians to make correct referrals and also for public health policies. It is valuable for mothers to correctly interpret the weight status of their children, thus enabling early diagnosis and treatment, and preventing future health consequences.