Physician Perspectives on Obesity Screening in Hospitalized Children

Abstract

Nearly one-third of the children in the United States are obese or overweight and face associated physical and mental health issues.1,2 Parents often misperceive and underreport their child’s weight status.3-5 This misperception is a major barrier to increasing healthy lifestyle choices, such as limiting screen time, increasing physical activity, improving diet, and participating in prevention programs.6-8 Increasing parental awareness of children’s weight status is an important initial step in addressing the obesity epidemic.