According to the findings of a national survey by a major health insurance company, too many Australian parents are oblivious to the fact their children are overweight.
The MBF Healthwatch survey of more than 1,200 people shows that many parents appear to be in denial regarding their children's overweight.
The results showed that only 7.9% of children were considered to be overweight by their parents and this, according to a recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report, is a gross underestimation - the AIHW report showed almost a quarter of all children (aged two to 12) are overweight or obese.
BUPA Australia's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Christine Bennett says parents need to be extremely conscious that their failure to recognise these weight problems can be potentially damaging to their children in the long-term.
Dr. Bennett says even when recent suggestions that measures of overweight might be including some children on the border are taken into account, many parents appear to not realise the risk.
Once children become overweight, says Dr. Bennett, it is often extremely difficult for them to shed the excess kilos, particularly if their diet is incorrect and they are living a sedentary lifestyle and she says it is incumbent upon parents to help ensure their children embrace healthier lifestyles.
Dr. Bennett was also dismayed that parents' inability to recognise weight issues was markedly more pronounced with their sons as more parents believe their daughters are overweight (10.3%), compared to their male siblings (5.5%) - whereas the AIHW data showed there was little difference in the prevalence of overweight or obesity between boys and girls.