Child and Caregiver Reports of Weight Control Behaviors in Pediatric Obesity

Background: This study examined agreement and disagreement between child and caregiver reports of healthy, unhealthy, and extreme weight control behaviors (WCBs) in overweight and obese children. Methods: Participants were 93 youth 10-17 years old [M = 12.9; standard deviation (SD) = 2.1] attending an outpatient pediatric obesity clinic and their caregivers. Children and caregivers completed a measure examining child use of healthy, unhealthy, and extreme WCBs. Caregivers also completed a demographic questionnaire. Results: Significant differences between child and caregiver reports were found for child engagement in healthy, t(88) = 2.13, p < 0.05, and unhealthy WCBs, t(91) = 2.19, p < 0.05. Children endorsed using more WCBs to lose or maintain weight within the past year compared to caregiver report. No differences were found for extreme WCBs t(92) = 1.72, p = 0.09. Agreement between child and caregiver reports of WCBs ranged from slight to moderate (Cohen kappa = 0.11 to 0.43) for healthy WCBs, fair to moderate (0.25 to 0.44) for unhealthy WCBs, and fair to substantial (0.36 to 0.66) for extreme WCBs. Conclusions: Comparing child and caregiver reports of different WCBs used by children is important due to the differences and ranges of agreement found. Agreement between child and caregiver reports of WCBs in this sample was higher than in previous research. These findings highlight the importance of including both child and caregiver reports of healthy, unhealthy, and extreme WCBs in future research.