Turkish Mothers' Perceptions of Their Children's Weight

PURPOSE. This study was designed to determine mothers' perceptions and concerns about their preschool children's weight. DESIGN AND METHOD. This descriptive survey was carried out with mothers of 4- to 6-year-old children attending preschool. RESULTS. The prevalence of overweight among preschool children was 25.4%, but 73.3% of mothers of overweight children did not think that their children were overweight. Only 12.8% of mothers were concerned about their children being currently overweight; 8.1% worried that their children would become overweight. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. Understanding parental views about their children's weight is a key step for designing effective prevention strategies.