Adolescence is a time of physical and emotional changes, and parents may be surprised by the changes and development visible in their adolescent children. A mother's perception of her child's body size and weight can be particularly influential in determining how that child feels about himself. Mothers' beliefs and perceptions regarding adolescent body type and weight can be either constructive or destructive when it comes to establishing a healthy lifestyle for all members of the family.
Accuracy
According to a peer-reviewed study carried out by researchers from the University of Minnesota, reported in the November 2004 issue of the journal "Obesity Research," some 60 percent of mothers accurately assessed the weight status -- underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese -- of their adolescent children. Five percent of mothers overestimated the weight status of their children -- for example, estimating a child to be overweight when in fact he was of healthy weight. Adolescent weight status was underestimated by 35 percent of mothers.
Gender
The University of Minnesota study found that the gender of the child had a significant effect upon the mother's accurate, or inaccurate, assessment of his weight. When considering a female adolescent child, mothers were found to be much less likely to underestimate weight status. By contrast, when considering an adolescent son, the mothers were twice as likely to underestimate his weight status. These results appear to reinforce societal pressures for females to be thinner and smaller than males.
Variables
The accuracy of a mother's beliefs about her adolescent child's weight are also affected by the mother's own weight status. Mothers who are not overweight tend to make a more accurate assessment of their child's weight status -- according to the University of Minnesota study, non-overweight mothers are twice as likely to estimate child weight status accurately. Overweight mothers, however, were more likely to underestimate a child's weight status -- for example, failing to recognize adolescent obesity.
Considerations
Adolescence is a stage of life when girls and boys are particularly susceptible to developing eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia. According to an article in the March 2007 issue of the journal "Comprehensive Psychiatry," a mother's own body image and perceptions about her child can be factors determining the development of eating disorders. In this study, patients with an eating disorder were found more likely to have a mother who perceived her own body size inaccurately. The mother's perception of family functioning was also found to be important in assessing risk -- and treatment -- of adolescent eating disorders.
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