In America80% of overweight children are convinced that they have a healthy weight. In the Netherlands, the same percentage is aware that they are overweight. But what about children who are well on weight, how do they see themselves?
In our fixation on reducing the number of overweight children, we sometimes forget to pay attention to the dieting behavior and self-image of children who have a healthy weight, says Clothilde Bun. Earlier research already showed that one third of our children unfairly considered too heavy. Girls are more often dissatisfied with their bodies than boys.
The number of girls who are unnecessarily dissatisfied with their weight rises by almost 20% between grade 6 and second grade in secondary school.
Reason enough to keep an eye on your child, even if he or she has a healthy weight. Ultimately, of course, you want a child who is happy and comfortable in his own skin. As a parent these days you will have to compete against the unrealistic ideal images in the media and the continuous stream of advertisements for diet products and weight loss methods that make children insecure about their appearance. But you can. After all, that’s what we’re parents for
