A Third of Chubby Children Don’t Think They are Overweight: CDC

One-third of obese American children think their body weight is normal, finds a survey.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found nearly 81 percent of overweight boys and 71 percent of girls with obesity had misconceptions about normal body weight. The agency researchers gathered data from a national health survey of 6,100 young children aged between eight and 15 to observe their stance on weight status and physical conditions. The survey revealed 30 percent of the participants had false-assumptions about their own body weight. This figure accounts for almost 9.1 million obese youngsters in the U.S. who think their BMI levels are within the normal range.

This attitude was particularly common among subjects from African-American and Hispanic communities. Children from poor socio-economic backgrounds were mostly under the impression that they were healthy compared to those from high-income families. But, health experts fear if children and adolescents continue being uninformed about their actual physical conditions and healthy body weight, they are at high risk of having diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Past clinical studies suggest generally men tend to overestimate their height and body weight. They think they are thinner and taller than they really are. However, the current research also noticed many parents of overweight children also suffered from obesity issues and are less open about recognizing childhood obesity as a serious health concern. The authors believe the confusion about right body weight occurs when chubby children compare themselves with the rest of the family members who are also overweight.

"People are very sensitive to weight and to growth charts, and parents will argue it hasn't been updated in year. We feel like young people are immortal and will be fine, and that population also doesn't see the long-term implications," said Daniel Neides, the medical director for the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, to the TIME.

These findings are similar to results of CDC's earlier research on adults that recorded over 40 percent of overweight subjects considered their body weight was within the normal range.

"On the surface, many people assume weight misperception is a bad thing. But it remains to be seen if it is harmful or helpful," said Kendrin Sonneville, a researcher from the Harvard University who was not involved in the survey, reports the Washington Post.