Doctor, doctor, give me the news

Although about one third of U.S. children are overweight, less than a quarter of these children s parents could recall their doctors telling them that their children were overweight, according to the results of a recent survey.

Researchers led by a specialist in obesity and adolescent medicine at the University of North Carolina s School of Medicine surveyed nearly 5,000 parents of children ages two to 15 over the course of almost a decade. Overall, just 22 percent of these parents reported that their doctor had alerted them to their child s weight problem yet all of these parents had children whose body mass index classified them as either overweight or obese.

Having a healthcare professional communicate such information to a parent is important, say the authors, whose study appears in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. A healthcare provider s advice may motivate parents to help their children eat more healthfully and be more active. ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross, too, emphasizes the importance of doctors effectively communicating sensitive issues to their patients. Doctors need to make sure that their patients or, in this case, the patients parents understand what they re being told. Often, patients are told something important by a doctor, and nod in apparent understanding but recall distorted information later. Careful explanations, discussions, and follow-up can reduce such misunderstandings.